Chennai CBI Court Imprisons Man with Multiple Passports for Four Years
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Chennai, Feb 24 (NationPress) A Special CBI Court has sentenced a man found with numerous passports to four years in prison and imposed a fine of Rs 20,000, as confirmed by an official on Tuesday.
The case was brought forth before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Egmore, Chennai, on Monday, according to the official statement.
The Special Court found Ubaidullah, also known as F. Hameed or Ubaithullah Khan Faizal, guilty of forgery and acquiring multiple passports.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) initiated the case on December 31, 2018, based on allegations that Ubaidullah, with deceptive intent, procured several passports under false identities by impersonating himself and submitting forged documents.
The initial complaint stated that Ubaidullah had traveled overseas using these fraudulent passports, thereby deceiving the Customs Department.
He was arrested by Customs Officials at Chennai International Airport while attempting to board a flight to Singapore for illegally carrying foreign currencies worth Rs 36.74 lakh without proper authorization, the CBI reported.
The accused also provided false and misleading information to obtain passports from the relevant authorities, as per the CBI.
After concluding the investigation, the CBI submitted a chargesheet on March 13, 2020, against the accused.
In an unrelated case, last month, the CBI apprehended a long-absconding Proclaimed Offender, Sarit Vij, also known as Sarat Kumar Vij, connected with a Rs 58 lakh fraud involving the Customs Department. A reward of Rs 10,000 was offered for information leading to his capture, the agency stated in an official announcement.
The CBI had initiated the case on June 1, 1999, against Joseph Kuok, the then Superintendent at the Inland Container Depot (ICD), Tughlakabad, Delhi, and others, for allegedly defrauding the Customs Department of around Rs 58 lakh.
During the inquiry, Sarit Vij's involvement came to light. He was a partner in PS International, accused of filing fraudulent duty drawback claims with the Customs Department, seeking a refund of approximately Rs 19 lakh. After completing the investigation, Vij was chargesheeted alongside other co-defendants.
However, after the charges were filed in 2003, Sarit Vij failed to appear in court and went into hiding throughout the trial. Despite extensive efforts by the investigative agency, he remained elusive for several years.
After fulfilling all legal requirements, the court declared Sarit Vij a Proclaimed Offender on January 30, 2004. Subsequently, a reward of Rs 10,000 was announced for tips leading to his arrest.