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 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.
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.
“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.
