A Sri Lankan woman has been arrested in India for allegedly attempting to travel using a fraudulently obtained Indian passport, in a case that also led to the arrest of a Bangladeshi national, Indian police said.
The arrests were made by the Central Crime Branch following complaints lodged by officials of the Foreigners Registration Office at Chennai International Airport. The complaints were taken up by the Chit Fund, Usury and Fake Passport Intelligence Wing of the Greater Chennai Police, leading to the registration of cases and a detailed investigation.
According to police, on December 17, Priyadarshini Sathyasivam (26), a Sri Lankan national, allegedly concealed her Sri Lankan citizenship and attempted to travel to Sri Lanka using an Indian passport obtained with forged documents. She was arrested at the airport.
A day earlier, on December 16, Mohammed Al-Ameen (31), a Bangladeshi national, was arrested while attempting to travel to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Police said he had concealed his Bangladeshi nationality and obtained an Indian passport under the name “Al-Ameen Mandal” using forged documents.
Investigations revealed that Mohammed Al-Ameen had illegally entered India through the Bangladesh border in 2011 and later secured Indian identity documents, including an Aadhaar card and voter ID, under the assumed name. These documents were allegedly used to obtain an Indian passport.
Police further said that the Sri Lankan woman had arrived in India in 2024 on a tourist visa, married a man from Tiruchi, and settled there. She later obtained Indian identity documents such as an Aadhaar card and voter ID, which were allegedly used to secure an Indian passport.
Further investigations are continuing to determine whether an organised network was involved in facilitating the creation of forged identity documents and passports, police added.
