A 22-year-old Sri Lankan was taken into custody by Sanganer police after the immigration authorities at the airport caught him with a fake passport and visa documents on Wednesday. Police said the accused was trying to fly to London through Muscat in an Oman Air flight. He was staying as a refugee in Chennai for the past four years. The police, on Thursday, produced him in court which sent him to two-day police remand.

According to the police, the accused, Mathialagan Muthukumar, had taken shelter in Chennai in 2006 after he escaped from Sri Lanka with others in a boat. "He stayed in refugee camps in Chennai due to the civil war in Sri Lanka. He worked as a labourer during his stay in India," said ACP Rajesh Kumar Meel.


He added Muthukumar's two sisters live in London and he wanted to join them. "He was approached by a man in Chennai who promised to prepare fake documents for him. The man used a real passport belonging to someone else and replaced the photo with that of Muthukumar. He prepared fake visa documents for him," said the officer.
 

The man sent him to Jaipur saying it would be safer to fly to London from here with the fake documents. "He asked him to meet another man in Jaipur who would take him to airport and help him complete other formalities. Muthukumar followed his instructions, but immigration officials got suspicious," said the officer.
 

When verified from Sri Lanka embassy and other agencies, the passport and other documents were found to be fake. "He was taken into custody and handed over to the Sanganer police. We have registered a case against him under Sections 420,467,468 ,471 and120 of IPC and 3/12 of Passport Act," the officer added.


He said that the police are trying to trace the man who met Muthukumar in Jaipur. Other agencies including Rajasthan ATS and intelligence bureau are also interrogating him.
 

"Prima facie, it seems that the man is harmless and was travelling just to get to her sisters. He doesn't seem to have any connections with an outlawed organization including LTTE, even in the past. However, further investigation is on," said the officer. (Times of India)