Man deported from US held in Gujarat for travelling on fake passport

AHMEDABAD: A 31-year-old man from Gujarat recently deported from the US has been arrested in Ahmedabad for allegedly travelling with a fake identity using an Indian passport issued in another name, police said on Tuesday.
The accused, Jignesh Patel, native of Kalol in Gujarat's Gandhinagar district, was deported from the US via Panama. He reached New Delhi from where he came to Ahmedabad on Sunday evening.
He had earlier allegedly travelled to Canada from Delhi using a passport issued in the name of one Wasim Khalil, as per an FIR lodged against him at Airport police station in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
Patel was arrested on Sunday, Ahmedabad's Special Operations Group (SOG) inspector ND Nakum said, adding it was being ascertained whether the passport on which he travelled was fake or issued in Khalil's name.
The matter came to light when Patel approached for arrival immigration clearance at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi after being deported from the US, stated the FIR.
When his travel documents were scrutinised, it was learnt he had obtained an emergency certificate in Panama during his return, citing his Indian passport was lost.
However, on checking the passenger's departure details from the system, nothing was found against the lost passport, the FIR said.
When questioned about the passport on which he had left from India, Patel confessed he travelled by impersonation using a passport which was issued in the name of Wasim Khalil, it said.
On further checking details of his passport, it was found he had left from Delhi for Canada on February 3, 2025 by an Air Canada flight.
He was found posing as a different person during the departure and was handed over to police for action, the FIR said.
"Whether the passport is fake or whether he used a genuine passport belonging to one Khali is a matter of investigation. We have sought details from authorities, and the investigation is underway as the accused is under our custody," said Nakum.
The accused allegedly used an Indian passport in Khalil's name to reach Canada from Delhi, and from there he tried to illegally enter America when he was nabbed, the official said.
The accused has been booked under section 319 (2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for cheating by personation and provisions of the Passport Act, the police added.