A 26-year-old man from Nepal, Risman Chaudhary, has been arrested by the Sahar police after attempting to enter Greece with a fake Schengen visa.
According to Sahar police, the Nepali man wanted to settle in Europe, and had obtained the visa in an irregular way, Schengen.News reports.
Officials told the Free Press Journal that Chaudhary wanted to settle in Europe, so he obtained a fake Schengen visa. Officials said that the Nepali man arrived at Mumbai airport on May 13.
Chaudhary was scheduled to travel to Doha first, and then fly to the Hellenic Republic. But when he gave his passport and boarding pass for verification, the immigration officer noticed that his passport didn’t have the standard security features, and the visa paper looked low-quality. The officer reported him to a senior officer, suspecting the visa was fake.
The authorities began an investigation and examined the passport under a UV lamp. They found the passport had no security features while the visa had low-quality printing. Then the immigration officer contacted the foreign consulate, which confirmed that the visa was not issued by authorities in Greece.
The investigation revealed that Chaudhary wanted to move to Europe and had talked with an agent in Nepal, who helped him obtain the fake visa. He has been charged under the Passport Act and the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Increase in Fake Visa Cases by Labour-Class Migrants
According to a report from the Free Press Journal, concerns have arisen after a large number of labourers are attempting to fly to the Gulf in an irregular way in search of jobs. Last week, Sahar police filed a total of 14 FIRs against 18 people for attempting to travel to the Middle East with fake passports or visas. They were caught by immigration officers at the airport. They were traveling to the Gulf for better job opportunities.
A source said that the majority of those involved come from poor or labour backgrounds, while a few are said to be involved in criminal activities. According to the information, two cases were filed on May 12 and May 13, three on May 14, five on May 15, and one each on May 16 and May 17.
There are many cases related to fake Schengen visas. In March this year, the police in Italy uncovered a fraud in which two suspects convinced the victim to transfer €16,000 for a fake Schengen visa.