Bihar man held with fake Russian visa at Mumbai airport

In a major crackdown on international visa fraud, immigration officials at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport arrested a 37-year-old man from Bihar for carrying a counterfeit Russian visa. The suspect, Rajukumar Yadav, was detained after officers identified discrepancies in his visa using ultraviolet light during a routine inspection.

Yadav, who had previously traveled to Abu Dhabi on a work visa, was attempting to re-enter India when officials noticed that his Russian visa lacked essential security features such as watermarks, variable ink, and embedded threads. A complaint was promptly lodged by immigration officer Shivkumar Nishad, leading to his arrest by Sahar police.

During interrogation, Yadav admitted to paying ₹90,000 to an agent named Dilshad Ahmed for a Russian work visa, along with six other individuals from Bihar. However, when the promised jobs abroad did not materialize, he arranged separate legal travel to the UAE. He claimed to be unaware that the Russian visa in his passport was fake.

Authorities have launched a wider investigation into the visa racket, with the focus now shifting to identifying and apprehending the fraudulent agent. Officials have warned travelers against using unverified agents, citing growing instances of visa-related fraud.