Ahmedabad: Valsad man held at IGI for tampered passport, fake Russian visa

Ahmedabad: A Gujarat resident from Valsad was detained at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport after immigration officials allegedly detected a tampered passport and evidence of a forged Russian visa during his arrival from Moscow on May 11. Delhi Police have registered a case in the matter and are now in touch with Gujarat Police as part of the ongoing investigation, officials said on Sunday.

According to officials, the passenger had arrived at Terminal-3 of IGI Airport on an Etihad Airways flight from Moscow via Abu Dhabi when immigration officers noticed suspicious alterations in his passport during routine clearance. Authorities found that a visa sticker affixed on one of the passport pages had allegedly been removed.

During further verification, officials discovered that the traveller had allegedly used a fake Russian visa with validity from Jan 2026 to Jan 2029. Police also recovered a video clip of the suspected fake visa from the passenger’s mobile phone, sources said.

Following a complaint filed by an immigration officer posted at IGI Airport, Delhi Police registered an FIR under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita related to forgery, cheating and use of fraudulent documents, along with provisions of the Passport Act.

Police said the case was registered at IGI Airport police station after a preliminary enquiry confirmed signs of document tampering. The original passport, photocopies, travel logs, and immigration records have been seized as evidence.

Sources said investigators are now probing how the forged visa was obtained, whether any travel agents or international document forgery syndicates were involved and if similar forged travel documents had been used earlier.

Delhi Police officials have also initiated communication with Gujarat Police to verify the passenger’s background and possible local links connected to the fake visa racket.