Gang member who sent 80 Indians abroad on bogus documents arrested

Roshan Bhaskar Dudhwadkar, a resident of Andheri East, was allegedly part of a gang that helped Indians travel to USA, Canada and Europe with fake passports and visas in exchange for ₹30-50 lakh

MUMBAI: The Mumbai police crime branch has arrested a member of a gang that has allegedly sent around 80 individuals to Canada, Turkey, the Netherlands and Poland based on fabricated passports and visas. A search is on for other members.

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According to the police, they were informed that a certain Roshan Bhaskar Dudhwadkar, a resident of Andheri East, was apprehended by the immigration department after he landed at the international airport from Bangkok. A crime branch team immediately reached the airport, and Dudhwadkar was detained at the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO), which also suspected his involvement in the racket.

Joint commissioner of police, crime branch, Lakhmi Gautam had also got information about Dudhwadkar and the gang. “When Dudhwadkar was questioned by a team headed by inspector Milind Kate, he told them that he worked for Rajubhai alias Rajesh Panchal, a resident of Gujarat,” said a police officer. “Panchal takes ₹30 lakh to ₹50 lakh from Indians and helps them travel to Canada, Turkey, the Netherlands and Poland.”

The officer added that using the fake visa and passport, the client was asked to approach Dudhwadkar in Mumbai. “Thereafter it is Dudhwadkar who ensures that the people with fake documents board their flights without any problems,” he said. “ During his interrogation, Dudhwadkar told us that he got only ₹50,000 per assignment and even a ticket to some foreign countries like Bangkok to enable him to be at the airport to help the client clear all airport checks.”

While the search is on for Panchal, the police said they suspected the role of several more people in the racket, including staff posted at the airport. “Without help from the authorities it is impossible to board a flight for a foreign country on fake documents,” said a police officer.

Dudhwadkar and Panchal have been booked under Sections 318 (4) (cheating), 319 (2) (cheating by personation), 336 (2) (forgery), 337 (forgery of public record, court record, or identity document), 340 (2) (using a forged document or electronic record as genuine) and 61 (2) (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and Section 12 of the Indian Passports Act, 1967.

The police said they had learnt that around 80 people had been sent by the accused out of India in this manner. “It is a big racket, and several people are involved in it,” said the police officer. “Our investigations are at a very primary stage.”