Chennai police arrest Bangladeshi national for using forged Indian passport to travel abroad

CHENNAI: The Central Crime Branch (CCB) of the Greater Chennai Police arrested a Bangladeshi national for fraudulently obtaining an Indian passport and using it to travel to Bangladesh and back.

The accused, Muhammad Balal Moral (55), son of Omar Ali, was taken into custody upon his arrival at Chennai airport. The arrest followed a formal complaint lodged by the Foreigners Registration Officer at the airport with the CCB's Fake Passport Investigation Wing.

According to officials, the accused concealed his Bangladeshi citizenship to procure Indian documents. He altered his name to Mohammed Bilal, changed his date of birth from September 25, 1971, to January 1, 1967, and fraudulently claimed his birthplace as Bengaluru instead of his actual birthplace in Gazipur, Bangladesh.

Investigations revealed that the accused had originally arrived in Tamil Nadu seeking employment. He later married a local woman, Sahira Begum, and subsequently settled in Bengaluru. Using his marital status, he illegally obtained Indian identification documents, including an Aadhaar card and a Voter ID, which he leveraged to secure an Indian passport.

With the fraudulent passport in hand, Moral travelled to Bangladesh. However, his scheme unravelled when he returned to India, leading to his immediate detention by immigration authorities and subsequent arrest by the CCB.