HC grants bail to 2 Sri Lankans who tried to fly using fake docus
MUMBAI: The Bombay high court (HC) recently granted bail to two Sri Lankan nationals, residing in India as refugees since 2009, after they tried to migrate to Europe with bogus documents like Indian passports and British visa.
Justice PD Naik also granted bail to Chennai-based travel agent Kamalamohan Nagarajah, who according to the police, was the purported mastermind and had prepared all the fake documents for sending the Sri Lankan nationals — Santhakumar Alan Sanjit and Surenthar Mohanathasan — to the United Kingdom (UK).
On April 30, 2018, the two Sri Lankans entered the immigration hall of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Terminus and exchanged boarding passes with two German nationals, who had already completed immigration proceedings for departing to London.
While the German nationals boarded a domestic flight and left the airport, the two Sri Lankans proceeded to board a flight to London with the boarding passes they got from the German nationals. The duo, however, was caught during the last-minute immigration check at the airport, after the immigration officers noticed that almost all their documents, including some stamps of the immigration department on their documents, were bogus.
Their interrogation revealed Nagarajah’s involvement in the entire episode. The Sri Lankans were apprehended immediately on the same day, after the Sahar Airport police station registered an offence against them under sections 370, 465, 468, 471, 511, 419, 420 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code and under section 12(1)(b) of the Passport Act.
Nagarajah was later arrested from Chennai and brought to Mumbai.
The German nationals, who are also of Sri Lankan origin, later revealed to the police that Nagarajah had sent several people to Europe in this manner. Justice Naik granted bail to the trio primarily in view of the fact that they are behind bars since May 2018. Since the charge-sheet is filed, their custody is no longer required for investigation.