Mohammad Tanweer Alam from Howrah would rather give up his name than a job in the Gulf. But a change of name is exactly what cost him the job he wanted so badly.

The youth from Bankra, who used to work as a labourer in Saudi Arabia, applied for a second passport under an assumed name to circumvent a bar in the West Asian country on immigrant workers switching jobs. His fraud was detected at Regional Passport Office (RPO) in Calcutta.

Alam got his passport in November 1997. About four years later, he took up a job with a company in Saudi Arabia and moved there.

According to RPO sources, in 2006, Alam was offered a higher salary by another company in Saudi Arabia. He decided to switch jobs but since his visa was linked to his job, he had to return to India after resigning at the end of that year.

Back home, Alam heard of the rule that bans foreigners working in Saudi Arabia from entering the country for two years from the date of quitting their jobs.

“He contacted an immigration agent who advised him to obtain a new passport under a different name,” said R. Chattopadhyay, the regional passport officer.

On March 26, 2007, Alam applied for a passport in the name of Mohammad Tanweer Ahmed. He also changed his date of birth but retained his residential address in the passport application form.

Since Alam had applied for a Tatkal passport, he needed a certificate from an IAS officer. A senior official in the state home department provided it.

“The police officers who verified the details provided in the application form failed to detect the fraud. They also failed to spot that the birth certificate was forged,” said an RPO official.

After the discrepancies came to light, the case was referred to the Intelligence Bureau. During the course of the inquiry, around May last year, Alam changed his name through an affidavit in the Howrah court and became Mohammad Tanweer Ahmed.

In a letter to the directorate of public grievances, he claimed he was being harassed by the RPO. “Another company offered me a better job with a handsome salary. But I cannot go there (Saudi Arabia) because of the rules. The agent misguided me and so I applied for a new passport,” wrote Tanweer. He also submitted his passport with the authorities.

“The charge does not hold water. Those who change their name have to declare so in the passport application form. Ahmed did not do so,” said Chattopadhyay.