Mumbai: A Myanmar national who had been living in India illegally under a false identity was exposed due to a surprising detail — he couldn’t speak Hindi. The man, who had even obtained an Indian passport and traveled abroad, was caught during immigration checks at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport while attempting to board a flight to Malaysia.
About The Case
The suspect, identified as Boiltung Simon in his Indian documents, had been residing in Delhi under this false name. However, during a routine immigration screening by Officer Dilip Thakur, inconsistencies began to surface. Although his passport listed Aizawl in Mizoram as his birthplace, Simon failed to provide basic information about the state. More tellingly, he could not speak or understand Hindi — something unusual for someone claiming to be a long-time Delhi resident.
This raised suspicions for Officer Thakur, who escalated the matter to Wing In-charge Suraj Jadhav and Duty Officer Kamal Bhatt for deeper interrogation. During further questioning, the man continued to communicate solely in English, raising further red flags.
Despite possessing authentic-looking documents, officers pressed him on his inability to speak Hindi. Eventually, the man confessed his real identity. He revealed that his name was Thang So Lian, 34, and that he was a citizen of Myanmar.
Thang admitted he had fled Myanmar in 2019 after participating in anti-government protests, which led to a warrant being issued for his arrest. To avoid capture, he illegally entered India through Mizoram and later settled in Delhi. There, with the help of a passport agent named Talib, he managed to obtain forged Indian documents, including a passport.
He has been booked by Sahar Police under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and Passport Act — including BNS Sections 318, 336(2), 336(4), 340(2), and Section 12 of the Passport Act — for entering the country illegally, forging identity documents, and fraud. Police have launched a full investigation into the case, and efforts are underway to identify the network that assisted him in fabricating Indian citizenship.
