Ahmedabad: The Special Operations Group (SOG) of the city police arrested an individual, hailing from Karamsad in Anand district, for attempting to travel abroad using a fake French passport.

Although the accused, 28-year-old Jevin Patel, had initially cleared immigration, he was detained after airline staff received an email alert from Doha authorities flagging the passport as counterfeit. Subsequently, a complaint was filed against Patel under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). According to the complaint, Patel was carrying a French passport issued on March 5, 2020, valid until 2030, along with an Indian Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) issued on April 6. Based on these documents, he was allowed to board a Qatar Airways flight to Doha.

Airline officials escorted him back to immigration from the boarding gate after receiving the email from Doha security.

Further examination revealed that Patel’s passport had no record of immigration entry, indicating that the arrival stamp and Indian eVisa were also forged. During interrogation, Patel admitted to purchasing the fake French passport for Rs 3 lakh in cash from two individuals, Mohammad and Irfan, in Mumbai. He also confessed to forging Indian immigration stamps and a Canadian ETA to support a fabricated travel history, police said. DeshGujarat