CHENNAI: Two foreign nationals—one from Bangladesh and one from Sri Lanka—were arrested by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) in Chennai for fraudulently obtaining Indian passports using forged documents and attempting to travel abroad on Sunday. Shimul Das (32), a Bangladeshi national, allegedly suppressed his true identity and used fake documents to acquire an Indian passport under the name Srivastava Kripadas. He was intercepted while preparing to fly to Malaysia. In a separate case, Valantia Beatrice (24), a Sri Lankan national, concealed her origins and used fraudulent papers to secure an Indian passport for travel to Sri Lanka.
Investigations revealed that Shimul Das, along with another Bangladeshi, entered India in 2017 on tourist visas and later fraudulently obtained Indian Aadhaar and voter ID cards, which were used to procure passports. Beatrice, born in Ooty to Sri Lankan parents who entered India in 1984, had similarly acquired Indian identity documents before applying for a passport.
Both accused were produced before a magistrate and remanded in judicial custody. Police warned the public against using unauthorised agents for passport or visa applications and urged applicants to only submit genuine documents through official channels.