The court sentenced the Afghan family members to three years in prison for attempting to travel to Europe using fake Israeli passports, reports Kalpin Trivedi.
Ahmedabad:An Ahmedabad court has sentenced three members of an Afghan family to three years in prison for attempting to travel to Europe using fake Israeli passports and forged visas nearly a decade ago.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate N.N. Rawal convicted Zabiullah Azizullah Yadgar, Hamidullah Azizullah Yadgar and Meena Zabiullah Yadgar in the 2015 case involving forged travel documents. The quantum of punishment was announced on August 14.
According to the prosecution, the three accused had initially travelled from Afghanistan to Delhi using their genuine Afghan passports and valid Indian visas. They later allegedly obtained fake Israeli passports, false identities, forged Indian visas and a fake Mumbai immigration stamp in an attempt to travel to Europe.
The court was told that the accused wanted to leave Afghanistan to escape extremist activities and seek employment in Europe. They allegedly contacted an agent named ‘Haji’ through their uncle Rahman in Kabul and paid him USD 60,000 (USD 20,000 for each).
The trio later travelled to Ahmedabad and arrived at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on September 10, 2015, allegedly posing as Israeli citizens. They boarded Qatar Airways flight QR-535 to Doha.
However, immigration officials at Doha airport became suspicious of their documents and found that the passports and visas were fake. The three were subsequently sent back to Ahmedabad on Qatar Airways flight QR-534 on September 12, 2015.
Following their return, R.P. Yadav, the immigration officer in charge at Ahmedabad airport, lodged a complaint at Sardar Nagar police station. During the investigation, police verified the documents through communications with authorities in Delhi, Mumbai and the Israeli Embassy and subsequently filed a chargesheet.
During the trial, public prosecutor Kalpesh Pathak examined nine witnesses and presented around 50 documentary pieces of evidence before the court. The prosecution argued that the charges had been established through both oral and documentary evidence.
The court, after considering the evidence and arguments, found all three accused guilty and sentenced each of them to three years in prison.
