Afghan national with LOC from Kolkata held at Bhubaneswar airport with fake passport
Mohammad Yousaf was intercepted during routine immigration clearance at Biju Patnaik airport in Bhubaneswar, shortly after he arrived from Dubai on an IndiGo flight
Bhubaneswar: A 54-year-old Afghan national, against whom a look out circular (LOC) had been issued by Kolkata airport authorities, was arrested on Sunday at Odisha’s Biju Patnaik International Airport with fake documents, including an Indian passport, police said.
The police said that Yousaf had illegally entered India in 2018 with a false Indian identity and secured official documents through forged means (Sourced)
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The accused, Mohammad Yousaf, was intercepted during a routine immigration clearance at Biju Patnaik airport in Bhubaneswar on Saturday evening, shortly after he arrived from Dubai on an IndiGo flight.
A police officer said that airport police authorities arrested Yousaf following a complaint by deputy superintendent of police (immigration) Samapika Pattnaik. “His team during a routine immigration clearance of Flight No. 6E-1488 arriving from Dubai spotted him with the counterfeit Indian passport ,” he said.
Around ₹80,000 in cash, a smartphone, two gold earrings, a motorcycle registration certificate, and bank documents in the forged name were seized from his possession, the officer said.
The police said that Yousaf had illegally entered India in 2018 with a false Indian identity and secured official documents through forged means. He had been residing in Peyton Sahi, Buxi Bazar area of Cuttack and operating under the alias Yaha Khan.
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The immigration team, while conducting a thorough background check, also found a Look Out Circular (LOC) issued against him by Kolkata airport authorities, the officer added.
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The immigration team, while conducting a thorough background check, also found a Look Out Circular (LOC) issued against him by Kolkata airport authorities, the officer added.
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“Yousaf confessed to his real identity during interrogation and admitted to fabricating multiple official documents such as Aadhaar, PAN card, voter ID, and driving license apart from the fake Indian passport. He used the forged documents to travel, conduct business, and open bank accounts across states,” the officer said.
Yousaf was produced in court and remanded in judicial custody. Further investigation is underway to uncover any wider network and potential national security implications.
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.
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Home/India News/Afghan national with LOC from Kolkata held at Bhubaneswar airport with fake passport
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