Thai immigration officials deport accused; he had escaped detection at KIA

A 28-year-old Bangladesh national with a valid Indian passport, who escaped detection at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru, was caught by the Thai immigration officials. He was deported to the city on Thursday.

This is the second incident in less than two weeks where a foreign national has been caught flying out of the country from KIA on an Indian passport.

In the latest incident, Elias Akanda Kustiyanamapara who hails from Biddayaganjj, Bangladesh, told officials that he was hoping to get a job in Thailand. He was arrested on his return to India and questioned by the Bureau of Immigration. According to the immigration officials here, Elias had crossed the border into West Bengal in December 2015 via Hili Land Port in Bangladesh.

He then travelled with a group of labourers to Tamil Nadu and worked in a garment factory in Tiruppur for two years. While working there, he met Rakesh, a tout who promised to get him the required ID cards so that he could apply for an Indian passport.

Valid Aadhaar, PAN cards

In 2017, with the help of Rakesh who charged him ₹1.10 lakh, Elias was able to get an Aadhaar card and PAN card, which he then submitted to get a passport.

“He applied for a tourist visa to Thailand, and was planning to get a job in Bangkok,” said the police.

The Bureau of Immigration handed over Elias to the airport police. He has been charged with cheating and forgery under the Indian Penal Code and also under various sections of the Passport Act. “We have reached out to our counterparts in Tamil Nadu to track down Rakesh, who helped Elias get the documents,” said the police.

Past case

On August 3, the immigration officials at KIA arrested 24-year-old Iqbal Hussain Ripon from Habiganj district in Bangladesh who was flying to Dubai on a valid Indian passport. Even though all his documents were in order, his accent and distinctive use of Hindi and Bengali caught the attention of immigration officials in KIA. Like Elias, Rippon had procured Aadhaar and PAN cards from a middleman.