Afghan national caught with fake Indian passport at Mumbai airport

Accused Ajmal Khan Hamdard, a resident of Kabul

The Sahar police have arrested a 27-year-old Afghan national travelling to Dubai on an Indian passport. Police said they also seized a drone, two mobile phones, and a laptop from the accused caught at the Mumbai International Airport on March 23. The Mumbai Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has joined the investigation to determine if the suspect has any links to terrorist activities.

Police have identified the accused as Ajmal Khan Hamdard, a resident of Kabul. Police said that Hamdard managed to obtain an Indian passport using forged documents, from Kolkata.

According to the police, Hamdard, had on March 23, booked a ticket on SpiceJet flight SG-13 to travel from Mumbai to Dubai (UAE). During the immigration check, Udham Phool Kumar Singh, 39, an immigration officer, inspected Hamdard's passport and grew suspicious. Singh noticed that his appearance resembled that of an Afghan national, prompting him to detain the accused.

Upon examination, Hamdard presented an Indian passport under the name Amir Khan, with his parents listed as Amin Khan and Nasrin Bibi. The passport falsely mentioned his address as West Medinipur, West Bengal.

"His appearance and manner of speaking were inconsistent with the details on the passport. During further checks, we discovered one of his mobile phones had a Gmail ID registered under the name Ajmal Khan Hamdard. Using this information, we traced his original Afghan passport details," a police officer said.

Further investigations revealed that Hamdard had travelled between India and Afghanistan multiple times using his Afghan passport. His Afghan passport, however, expired on February 8, 2025. Police found out that he created a fake identity in 2023, using counterfeit Aadhaar and PAN cards to apply for the Indian passport.

Following his detention, the Mumbai ATS arrived at the airport and questioned him for over seven hours. During the interrogation, officers seized a drone, a laptop, and two mobile phones.