72-year-old who entered Saudi consulate in Mumbai using fake pass arrested

The accused’s entry pass had expired in August 2017 but he allegedly forged it by updating it till 2018

A 72-year-old man was arrested by the Cuffe Parade police after he allegedly tried to enter the Saudi Arabian consulate with an expired entry pass. The accused, who is an overseas recruitment agent, had an entry pass that had expired in August 2017. But instead of renewing the pass, he allegedly forged it by updating it till 2018.

After the arrest of the accused, the consulate staff are now checking how many people have made forged passes, and enter the premises illegally. (HT FILE)

The accused has been identified as Abdul Aziz, a resident of Pune. Aziz told police that he used to visit the Saudi consulate on regular basis for visas, and had an entry pass from the Ministry of External Affairs that was valid for a year.

On May 15, when Aziz was entering the consulate, the security guard checked his entry pass and found that it was forged. “The consulate then checked Aziz’s status and found that his pass had expired in August 2017, but instead of renewing the pass he forged the date by extending it to August 2018,” said a police officer. The complainant Muzamil Nadaf, a member of the consulate, then approached Cuffe Parade police and filed a complaint. The police registered a case under sections 465 (punishment for forgery), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged 1 (document or electronic record)) of the Indian Penal Code.

When the consulate checked the authenticity of the agent, they found that he had been in the business of overseas recruitment for a long time. Consulate staff are now checking how many people have made forged passes, and enter the premises illegally.

The accused is in police custody for two days and further investigation is on.