Pune Man Arrested at Mumbai Airport for Tearing Passport to Hide Bangkok Trips

A 50-year-old man from Pune was arrested on Monday at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) for allegedly tampering with his passport in an attempt to conceal previous visits to Thailand from his family.

The man, who had recently traveled to Indonesia on April 7, was intercepted by immigration authorities while returning via Vietnam, when officials noticed that several pages in his passport were missing. Upon questioning, it was revealed that the accused had deliberately torn out pages 17-18 and 21-26, which reportedly contained visa stamps and entry records from earlier trips to Bangkok.

According to Senior Inspector Dhananjay Sonawane from Sahar Police Station, the man confessed that he destroyed the pages to prevent his family from discovering his travel history. Authorities deemed the act a serious breach of immigration laws, as traveling with a tampered passport is considered an attempt to deceive government officials.

The accused has been booked under Section 381(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and provisions of the Passport Act, which deal with forgery and misuse of official travel documents.

Officials emphasized that tampering with passports not only violates national security protocols but also invites severe legal consequences, including arrest and prosecution.

Further investigation is underway to verify the full extent of the accused’s travel history and intentions.

Read also:

• Bengaluru passport officer targeted in Pakistan’s propaganda campaign
• Rare 1930 British Indian passport, used before independence