A Gujarat man, AC Patel, attempted to enter the U.S. using a stolen Pakistani passport, leading to his arrest and deportation back to India. He confessed to hiring an agent in Dubai for his identity fraud. In a related incident, Karan Jayanti Tandel was arrested for misusing credentials to obtain an Indian passport to apply for Portuguese citizenship. U.S. authorities are reportedly tightening immigration controls, resulting in the deportation of Indian nationals.
A man from Gujarat attempted to enter the United States using a stolen Pakistani passport but was apprehended and subsequently deported. The individual, identified as AC Patel, adopted the alias Mohammad Najir Hussain. His deception was uncovered by U.S. authorities, leading to his return to India, as reported by The Times of India.
Patel arrived at the Delhi airport on February 12 aboard flight AA-292. Immigration officials became concerned when they discovered that the Pakistani passport he possessed was not counterfeit but rather belonged to an individual named Hussain who had reported it as lost. Consequently, Delhi Police arrested Patel on charges of fraud and passport misuse.
During interrogations, Patel revealed that he had engaged an agent in Dubai to procure this fraudulent identity. Rather than renewing his expired Indian passport from 2016, he relied on human traffickers who facilitated his illicit travel through Dubai. “Human smugglers pick passports that are strong for getting a US visa or randomly assign some UAE citizen’s passport to sneak into the US,” confided a source to The Times of India.
In a parallel incident last month, another Gujarati man was arrested for allegedly utilizing false credentials to secure an Indian passport before seeking Portuguese citizenship. Karan Jayanti Tandel, a resident of Nani Daman, had fraudulently obtained an Indian passport under the name Ramesh Tandel. When applying for a Portuguese passport, discrepancies in his personal information triggered an investigation into his claims.
Upon investigation, officials revealed that Tandel had already acquired Portuguese citizenship, in addition to misrepresenting his identity to support his aunt’s residency in Portugal. During questioning, he admitted to using forged identification documents, such as an Aadhaar card and driving license. Authorities have charged him under the Passport Act and Indian Penal Code for forgery and misrepresentation, as such actions are deemed illegal.
These incidents coincide with an increased effort by U.S. authorities to address the influx of undocumented Indian immigrants following Donald Trump’s reelection in January. Over the past month, four flights transporting Indian deportees, including 74 individuals from Gujarat, have been recorded returning to India. The latest return occurred on February 23, with 12 deportees arriving in Delhi, following previous flights with even larger numbers on February 5, 15, and 16.
These two cases underscore the challenges associated with immigration, identity fraud, and the strict measures being implemented by authorities to combat these issues. Both Patel and Tandel faced serious legal consequences for their attempts to manipulate identification for unauthorized travel and benefit from illegal citizenship gains. As U.S. efforts intensify against illegal immigration, similar incidents may continue to arise, prompting tighter scrutiny on immigration processes.
Original Source: www.ndtv.com
