In a dramatic twist of events, a 25-year-old fashion merchandising student found her dreams of an international internship unravelling at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. As she prepared to board a flight to Singapore, a routine check turned into a high-stakes investigation when immigration officials discovered four crucial pages missing from her passport. What seemed like a straightforward journey to a prestigious opportunity suddenly led to charges that could significantly impact her future.
Mumbai Airport Stops Student Over Missing Passport Pages
The 25-year-old student was getting ready to board a flight to Singapore on Thursday. However, the immigration officials in Mumbai stopped her because they noticed that four pages were missing from her passport.
SS Ghatol is a first-year fashion merchandising student who was travelling to Singapore on a tourist visa. She was supposed to travel for an internship sponsored by her institute in Worli. After checking it at the airport, officials discovered the passport pages were missing. It quickly became problematic and the officials decided to investigate the matter further.
The Times of India reported that Ghatol had allegedly deleted the pages to conceal a recent trip to Thailand. She went to Thailand from February 11 to February 14 of this year. To take that trip, she pretended to be sick, as she had to miss an exam at her institute. After she was chosen for the Singapore internship, her institute reportedly asked to see her passport. It was then that this fraud was apparently discovered.
Student Charged With Passport Fraud
Ghatol attempted to hide the trip by removing the pages. Naturally, she was afraid that her deception would be discovered, according to Assistant Immigration Officer Sujit Patil.
As a result of this incident, Ghatol is charged with violating the Passport Act and lying to the authorities, as per the Times of India reports. The case certainly emphasises how important it is to uphold the integrity of official procedures. It reminds us of the grave repercussions of tampering with official documents.
The most recent information about the matter indicates that Ghatol is presently involved in legal proceedings. It certainly puts her plans for the internship in Singapore in jeopardy.
Cover Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons and Canva
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