New Delhi:A Nepalese, ‘faking’ as a Tibetan to seek refuge in US, and a Tibetan national have been arrested for allegedly carrying fake documents at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) here.
Officials said the incident was reported on the intervening night of January 15 and 16 when CISF personnel were alerted by a US-based flier about a passenger trying to fly to New York.
The CISF later found that the passenger allegedly exchanged his boarding pass inside a washroom in the terminal area with the other, and based on CCTV footage, they were intercepted and offloaded.
The man, who was carrying fake travel documents to US was identified as Rajender Gurung, a Nepali national. He was allegedly carrying documents in the name of Pema Wangyal, a Tibetan national who holds USA Travel Documents, said a senior police officer.
The original USA Travel document holder Pema Wangyal was facilitating him, he added.
“Pema Wangyal is a Tibetan national and is living as a refugee in US on valid documents. Wangyal was convinced by Gurung to hand over his documents so that the latter could live as a refugee in the US while Wangyal could get fresh papers prepared after reaching US,” said a senior police officer.
The co-accused Pema Wangyal was also apprehended with the swapped boarding pass of a flight from New Delhi to Mumbai.
Wangyal was allegedly carrying a fake Nepali citizenship id in the name of Wangdulama Tsering, he said.
On the written complaint of immigration officials, a case has been registered, the officer added.
During interrogation, they revealed that the fake ids of both the persons were prepared by two Nepal-based agents, he said.
The police and immigration authorities are now probing if the case pertains to a human trafficking racket, an official said.