Passenger, travel agent arrested for forging ticket to fly from Mumbai to Kolkata

The bluff was caught at Mumbai airport when the flier’s name did not match the name in which the ticket was booked in the airline’s records

A passenger and a travel agent were arrested after the passenger allegedly tried to fly from Mumbai to Kolkata using a forged air ticket on Sunday night.

The incident took place on Sunday night at Mumbai airport. (HT File Photo)

The accused have been identified as Dilip Jana, 29, the travel agent, and Deepak Mula, 46, the flier, both of whom are natives of West Bengal and based in Mumbai.

Mula, who works at a jewellery shop in Chira Bazaar, needed to go to Kolkata urgently. Jana had already booked an air ticket for one of his clients who had later asked him to cancel it, but instead of cancelling the ticket, he sold it to Mula and forged his name on it so that the name on the ticket would match his ID card.

Airport police officials said the agent forged the ticket, which was worth Rs5,100, to make money through both clients.

Around 9pm on Sunday, Mulla managed to enter the airport with the forged ticket. However, during the second check, the bluff was caught as his name did not match the name in which the ticket was booked as per the airline’s records.

Mulla was taken into custody by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel, and handed over to the Airport police. When he was questioned, Mulla told the police about Jana who had given him the ticket. Police officials then traced and arrested Jana, too.

Police sub-inspector Amol Waghmare, who is investigating the case, said the accused will be in police custody till Wednesday. “We are trying to find out if the agent has committed such crimes in the past,” he said.