Mumbai: The Sahar Police have arrested four Nepali youths for allegedly attempting to travel to Gulf countries using fake documents. They had entered India from Nepal via Bihar. Each of the accused had paid Rs. 2.50 lakh (in Nepali currency) to an agent for travel arrangements and forged documents. The case was registered on May 30. Just last week, six Nepali youths were arrested for trying to go abroad illegally in a similar manner.
About The Case
According to the FIR, Radha More, 28, an immigration officer at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, noticed something suspicious on May 29. Four passengers — Jogendra Das, 24, Anish Kumar Das, 19, Sindhu Kumar Jha, 22, and Jogendra Jha, 38, — arrived at Mumbai International Airport intending to travel to Middle Eastern countries. All four were Nepali citizens and possessed UAE visas and Foreign Employment Permits (FEPs). They claimed they were going to work in Doha and Dubai.
Officer More became suspicious about the authenticity of their FEPs and reported the matter to Wing Chief Vikram Kumar and Pratiyush Pandey. During interrogation, the four could not provide satisfactory answers. To verify their claims, officials checked whether their names appeared on the official website of the Nepal government's Foreign Employment Permit system — but their names were not listed.
The FEPs were then emailed to the Nepali Embassy for verification. The embassy confirmed that no such permits had been issued to these individuals and that the documents were fake.
Further investigation revealed that all four had approached a Nepali agent who had promised to arrange documents in exchange for Rs. 2.50 lakh (Nepali currency) from each person.
As a result, the four were handed over to the Sahar Police. Based on the immigration officer's complaint, the police registered a case under Sections 340(2) (forged document or electronic record and using it as genuine), 336(3) (forgery), 318(4) (cheating), and 336(2) (forgery) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Providing further details, the Sahar Police stated that the accused had entered India through a Nepali agent. First, they travelled by road to Patna in Bihar, and later took a flight to Mumbai. The police suspect that a gang involved in producing and distributing fake Foreign Employment Permits is active.
Last week, six other Nepali youths were arrested under similar circumstances while trying to travel to a Gulf country with forged documents.
According to legal requirements, if a Nepali citizen in India wants to travel to any country other than Nepal, they must obtain a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Nepali Embassy in India or a Foreign Employment Permit from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nepal. Without these documents, no Nepali citizen is permitted to travel abroad from India.
