Mumbai: Sahar police arrested two Afghan nationals at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport on Sept 17 for allegedly obtaining Indian passports using forged documents and false birth details.Immigration officials detained Sherbat Ali Shah Khan and Sujan Khan after they arrived from Dubai on Emirates flight EK-504. Lookout circular alerts issued by immigration officials at Kolkata airport identified them as suspected Afghan nationals, according to a complaint by immigration counter officer Yogesh Suresh Yadav (29).Police said Sherbat, identified in immigration records as Afghan passport holder Ahmad Khan (48), entered India on Aug 10, 2016, on a single-entry medical visa that expired on Oct 11, 2016. He allegedly overstayed and obtained an Indian passport under the name Khan Sherbate Ali Shah, recording his birthplace as Patna, Bihar, and date of birth as Feb 25, 1980.Sujan entered India on Aug 9, 2016, on a multiple-entry tourist visa that expired on Jan 19, 2017. He also allegedly overstayed and secured an Indian passport by providing false information.Police said the two contacted an agent in Mumbai in 2016 who arranged voter identity cards, Aadhaar cards, PAN cards and driving licences. These documents were allegedly used to obtain passports under false names and birth details. Police are trying to trace the agent.The men allegedly used the Indian passports to travel from Mumbai to Dubai in 2023 and return on Sept 17. They had also obtained Afghan employment or work visas using the passports, immigration officials said.Officials seized their Indian passports, boarding passes, voter and Aadhaar documents, birth certificates, medical fitness certificates and mobile phones. Bank cards, PAN cards, driving licences and other records were handed to the police. Police said the phones had been completely formatted.
