Bangladeshi national caught at Mumbai airport with forged Indian passport
Synopsis
A Bangladeshi man who allegedly slipped into India in 2016, built a fake identity using Aadhaar and PAN cards, obtained a genuine Indian passport, and travelled internationally multiple times was finally caught — not by a document scanner, but by his accent. The case exposes a network of intermediaries and systemic gaps in India's identity verification chain.
Key Takeaways
Babu Biswas , alias Tapas Biswas , a 36-year-old Bangladeshi national , was arrested at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai on 27 July .
Biswas allegedly entered India illegally through the West Bengal border in 2016 and lived in Nadia district for nearly seven years.
He reportedly obtained an Aadhaar card , a PAN card , and an Indian passport from the Kolkata Passport Office in 2019 using fraudulent documents.
He used the forged passport to visit the Maldives twice in 2023 and Colombo at least once before being caught.
Police are investigating the network of agents who allegedly facilitated the forgery and his illegal stay.
The Mumbai Crime Branch is separately deporting 53 illegal Bangladeshi nationals arrested in recent city-wide operations.
Mumbai Police arrested a 36-year-old Bangladeshi national at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport on 27 July for allegedly travelling on a fraudulently obtained Indian passport. The accused, identified as Babu Biswas, alias Tapas Biswas, was intercepted after arriving from Colombo on Sri Lankan Airlines flight UL141 at approximately 3.30 am.
How Suspicion Was Raised
An Assistant Immigration Officer on duty at Counter No. 23 flagged Biswas after noticing that his accent closely resembled dialects commonly spoken in Bangladesh. When questioned, the passenger failed to provide satisfactory answers, prompting officials to escalate the matter to the officer in charge of the Immigration Wing for detailed interrogation.
During questioning, officials reportedly established that Biswas hailed from Faridpur in Bangladesh. Suspicion was confirmed when Biswas contacted his wife in Bangladesh via WhatsApp and requested identity documents. She sent photocopies of land ownership records registered in Bangladesh in the name of Biswas' father — corroborating his Bangladeshi origin.
How He Built a False Indian Identity
According to police, Biswas had illegally crossed into India through the West Bengal border along with his wife and family in 2016. He subsequently settled in Nadia district and worked as a daily-wage labourer in Kolkata for nearly seven years.
During this period, Biswas allegedly obtained an Aadhaar card and a PAN card with the assistance of a local resident. Using these documents, he reportedly secured an Indian passport from the Kolkata Passport Office in 2019. He subsequently used the passport to travel internationally — visiting the Maldives twice in 2023 and Colombo at least once — without raising suspicion until his latest arrival.
Investigation Into the Forgery Network
Police said the investigation is now focused on identifying the agents who allegedly facilitated the preparation of forged identity documents and enabled Biswas' illegal stay and international travel. Officials from Sahar Police Station confirmed that Biswas admitted during questioning to having entered India illegally and obtaining the documents through local intermediaries.
This comes amid a broader crackdown on illegal immigration in Mumbai. The Mumbai Crime Branch recently announced it has initiated deportation proceedings against 53 illegal Bangladeshi nationals apprehended during separate operations across the city.
Wider Context
The case underscores persistent vulnerabilities in India's identity document ecosystem. That a foreign national could allegedly obtain an Aadhaar card, a PAN card, and subsequently an Indian passport — and travel internationally multiple times — points to gaps at both the enrolment and verification stages. Investigators are now probing the full network behind the operation.
Point of View
Obtain a PAN card, and then convert those documents into a sovereign travel document, all without triggering a flag. The passport office, by design, relies on the integrity of upstream documents; if those are compromised, the passport becomes a lagging vulnerability. What makes this case particularly pointed is that Biswas reportedly travelled internationally multiple times before being caught — and the detection was ultimately human, not systemic. The investigation into intermediary networks is necessary, but the harder policy question is why the enrolment safeguards did not catch this at source.
NationPress
27 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Babu Biswas and why was he arrested?
Babu Biswas, also known as Tapas Biswas, is a 36-year-old Bangladeshi national arrested at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai on 27 July. He was detained for allegedly travelling on a fraudulently obtained Indian passport after immigration officials grew suspicious of his accent.
How did Biswas allegedly obtain an Indian passport?
According to police, Biswas illegally entered India through the West Bengal border in 2016 and lived in Nadia district. He allegedly obtained an Aadhaar card and a PAN card with the help of a local resident and used those documents to secure an Indian passport from the Kolkata Passport Office in 2019.
Had Biswas travelled internationally before being caught?
Yes. Biswas reportedly used the fraudulently obtained Indian passport to visit the Maldives twice in 2023 and Colombo at least once before being intercepted at Mumbai airport on his return from Colombo on Sri Lankan Airlines flight UL141.
What confirmed his Bangladeshi identity?
During interrogation, Biswas contacted his wife in Bangladesh via WhatsApp and asked her to send identity documents. She forwarded photocopies of land ownership records in Bangladesh registered in his father's name, which officials said confirmed his Bangladeshi origin.
What is the current status of the investigation?
Police are investigating the network of agents who allegedly helped Biswas obtain forged identity documents and facilitated his illegal stay and international travel. Separately, the Mumbai Crime Branch has initiated deportation proceedings against 53 other illegal Bangladeshi nationals apprehended in recent city-wide operations.
