Immigration officials detained a passenger on Thursday at the Mumbai International Airport, before he could board his flight to Thailand, as the officials discovered that the man had tampered with 12 pages of his passport inorder to hide his previous travel records to Bangkok and Thailand, TOI reported.
The passenger, identified as Tushar Pawar (33), was arrested by the Sahar police, the publication stated, while mentioning that the man committed the offence so that he could avoid a confrontation with his wife, as she was not aware of his prior three trips.
The report also mentioned that Tushar Pawar is a logistics business operator and graduate, and lived with his family in Satara. Pawar is currently in judicial custody after he was booked under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 318 (4) for cheating and the Indian Passport Act.
A police officer from Sahar police station told the publication, “Pawar was travelling on an official trip to Thailand with his client when he was detained. During interrogation, Pawar admitted to gluing together 12 pages of his passport to conceal his previous travel records to Bangkok and Thailand in 2023 and 2024 from his wife.”
Immigration official A S Mittal stated in the complaint that Pawar was stopped upon finding out that pages 3 to 10 and 17 to 20 were glued together in his passport. Pawar had failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for sticking the 12 pages of his passport together when he was presented before wing-in-charge Prashant Sawant; he also confessed that he had earlier travelled to Thailand with friends, and his wife was unaware of the same, the official added.
"This time, Pawar was travelling on an official trip with his client, and his wife was aware. If he had informed his wife about his past trips, he could have avoided this situation. Instead, his actions at the airport led to complications and his arrest. He awaits a bail hearing scheduled for Monday,” a Sahar police officer stated.
Authorities are working to resolve the case and the investigation continues, the publication added.