Mumbai: A 51-year-old man from Pune was detained at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport after immigration authorities discovered that several pages had been deliberately torn from his passport—allegedly to conceal previous travel to Bangkok.
The accused, identified as V.K. Bhalerao, was intercepted during routine immigration checks in the early hours of Monday. Officials found that pages 17/18 and 21 to 26 of his passport were missing. These pages reportedly contained immigration stamps from his earlier trips to Thailand.
According to the First Information Report (FIR), Bhalerao had arrived in India from Indonesia via Vietnam. Immigration officer Rajiv Ranjan Kumar, who filed the complaint, raised concerns after noticing the irregularity in Bhalerao’s passport. Upon further questioning, Bhalerao initially avoided explanation but later admitted to having removed the pages nearly a year ago to hide his Bangkok visits from his family.
Tampering with a passport is a punishable offense under Indian law. Bhalerao has been booked under Section 12 of the Passports Act, 1967, which pertains to willful damage to a passport, and Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) for intent to deceive through fraudulent means.
A case has been registered at Sahar Police Station, and further investigation is currently underway. Immigration authorities have emphasized that any tampering with official travel documents is a serious violation and can lead to stringent legal consequences.
