3 arrested for forging visas for Saudi Arabia

The Sahar police on Wednesday arrested three men for trying to go to Saudi Arabia using fake visas, which were allegedly forged to avoid clearance from Protectorate of Emigrants (POE). The police are now on the lookout for the agent who helped them...

The Sahar police on Wednesday arrested three men for trying to fly to Saudi Arabia using fake visas. The visas were allegedly forged to avoid clearance from Protectorate of Emigrants (POE). The police are now on the lookout for the agent who helped them.

The accused had come to Mumbai were to first fly to Oman and then take a connecting flight to Saudi Arabia. (File photo)

According to police officers, two of the accused are from Uttar Pradesh and one is from Karnataka. All three come from a poor economic background. They had come to Mumbai and were supposed to fly to Saudi Arabia. They were to first fly to Oman and then take a connecting flight.

They had work visas for Saudi Arabia, but while going from here they used fake visit visas. The reason for doing so was to ensure that they do not require clearance from Protectorate of Emigrants (POE). The accused told the police that for obtaining clearance officially, they would have had to submit valid documents and pay charges. Also, the process is time consuming. So they resorted to forging visas.

However, the immigration authorities at the airport called their bluff and detained them, and later handed them over to Sahar police. A first information report (FIR) was registered against them under section 420 (cheating) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). They were produced before a magistrate’s court and remanded to police custody till January 7.