IGIA: Agent held for passport fraud, illegal re-entry into Israel thwarted

NEW DELHI: The IGI Delhi Airport Police team has arrested an agent for creating fake documents to obtain a passport for a female passenger.

The police were alerted about the agent through an anonymous source at the IGI Police Station.

The arrested accused was identified as Ramesh Sharma (50) son of Churamani Sharma resident of Gore Line, Kalchini, Distt-Alipurduar, West Bengal.

According to the Police, the arrest was part of an ongoing investigation which earlier saw a co-conspirator detained for similar offenses.

The accused Sharma was nabbed by the police following his activities that included the creation of counterfeit Aadhar Cards, Voter IDs, and birth certificates.

These documents facilitated a passport issuance used to send an individual, identified as Hetalben Jitendra Kumar Valand, to Israel under a false identity.

Valand, who originally traveled to Israel in 2012 and overstayed for nearly a decade, was deported back to India in January 2023 after being blacklisted.

Despite this, she attempted to re-enter Israel with Sharma’s assistance, who promised her another identity for a fee of Rs 6 lakhs.

Her re-entry attempt was thwarted at Tel Aviv airport based on her travel history, leading to her deportation.

The operation leading to Sharma’s capture was spearheaded by Inspector Raj Kumar and a dedicated team at IGI Airport, under the supervision of the Airport Police.

Sharma’s confession revealed his collaboration with foreign agents in 2020, which marked the beginning of his fraudulent activities targeting individuals desperate to work abroad. Authorities continue to caution travelers to rely only on authorised agencies for overseas travel.