2 days ago
Bihar resident held over counterfeit Russian visa
Mumbai: A Bihar resident, aged 37, was apprehended at Mumbai airport on Wednesday after returning from Abu Dhabi, where he had worked for three months. Immigration officials became suspicious upon noticing a Russian visa sticker on page 4 of his passport.
Upon examining Rajukumar Yadav's passport under ultraviolet light, they confirmed the Russian visa was counterfeit. The Sahar police subsequently arrested him based on the immigration official's findings.
The investigation revealed several missing security features in the visa, including watermarks that should be visible when held against light. Other absent elements included Optically Variable Ink (OVI) that displays different colours at various angles, Optically Variable Device (OVD) with holographic patterns changing under different lighting, variable colour inks, and an embedded security thread typically showing specific patterns or colour variations.
Immigration officer Shivkumar Nishad filed the complaint leading to Yadav's arrest. A Sahar police station officer stated, "Yadav, who had successfully passed through security protocols in March en route to Abu Dhabi, was intercepted by immigration authorities during his arrival due to suspicions regarding his Russian visa dated 2024. Upon examining the visa through an ultraviolet (UV) testing device, officials discovered it was counterfeit as it lacked essential security elements.
The team is gathering information about the agent Dilshad Ahmed who got the counterfeit Russian visa on Yadav's passport."
During interrogation, Yadav disclosed that he and six others from Bihar had paid Rs90,000 each to an agent for Russian visas, but their travel arrangements fell through when the agent couldn't secure employment. The police reported that Yadav later found another agent who arranged his Abu Dhabi visa and job, claiming ignorance about the fraudulent Russian visa in his passport.
