A man was arrested at the Calcutta airport Thursday night while heading to Bangkok for allegedly carrying a passport under someone else’s name.
Gulab Ojha, from Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, was stopped at immigration while attempting to use a passport under the name Gulab Kumar, police said.
According to airport officials, Ojha failed to provide a satisfactory explanation after being questioned. Later, he was handed over to the officers of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport police station.
During the investigation, the police found that Ojha’s passport had been seized. He obtained a new passport using a new name.
“It is subject to investigation why his first passport was seized and how he managed to get the second passport with a new name,” said an officer of the Bidhannagar city police.
The police said they would alert the ministry of external affairs to find out from where the second passport had been issued.
“He was about to board a flight to Bangkok within a few minutes. Before that, he was intercepted as his credentials did not match those on the passport he was carrying,” said an officer of Bidhannagar city police.
Police officers pointed out that, according to the rules, no person is allowed to hold two passports, whether under the same name or different ones.
If any personal details change, the existing passport must be updated rather than applying for a second passport under a new name.
Ojha was formally arrested late on Thursday and produced before a court on Friday.