Mumbai student tampers with passport to hide Thailand trip
What's the story
A 25-year-old fashion merchandising student, SS Ghatol, was detained at Mumbai airport on Thursday while attempting to board a flight to Singapore. Immigration officials discovered four missing pages in her passport. The tampering was allegedly done by Ghatol herself, in an attempt to hide a previous trip to Thailand from her institute and feign illness for exam exemption.
Hidden journey
Student's Thailand trip during exams
Ghatol, a first-year student at a Worli-based institute, had traveled to Thailand on a tourist visa from February 11 to 14. To cover up this trip, she later sought exemption from an exam by claiming illness. Assistant Immigration Officer Sujit Patil revealed that Ghatol's fear of her deception being exposed arose when the institute asked for her passport after shortlisting her for an internship in Singapore. Ghatol has been charged with cheating and violations under the Passport Act.
Legal consequences
Another passenger arrested in July 2024
In a related case, immigration officials at Mumbai International Airport detained a passenger in July 2024 for tampering with 12 pages of his passport to conceal previous trips to Bangkok and Thailand. The individual, Tushar Pawar (33), was arrested by Sahar police, who indicated that Pawar altered his passport to hide travel details from his wife. Pawar was charged under the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita and the Indian Passport Act and was subsequently placed in judicial custody.