Thai woman leaving India arrested at Lucknow airport; local facilitator also held

Lucknow, Aug 22 (PTI) A Thai national was arrested at the Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport here for violating visa rules and living illegally in India with the help of a local facilitator, who also has been held, police said Friday.

The woman, identified as Thongphun Chayapha alias Darin Chokthanpat, was intercepted by immigration officials while attempting to board an Air India Express flight to Thailand using a fake passport Thursday, a police official told PTI on condition of anonymity.

"She had previously entered India on a different passport in 2024 and was blacklisted for visa violations. Despite this, she re-entered the country in July 2025 using forged documents. Since then, she had been staying illegally at the residence of Jaswinder Singh, who has now been arrested for facilitating her stay," the official said.

According to police, Singh allegedly arranged multiple fake Thai passports for her with the assistance of two other men, Navendu Mittal and Shuvendu Nigam, who are currently absconding. The woman's forged documents, including at least three passports, Thai national IDs, boarding passes and two mobile phones, have been seized.

The official said Singh not only provided her accommodation in Lucknow's Sarojini Nagar area but also helped her evade authorities despite her being blacklisted. "The other two accused are on the run and search operations are underway," the official added.

An FIR has been registered at Sarojini Nagar police station under several provisions of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), including section 338 (forgery), section 336(3) and 336(4) (cheating), section 340(2) (false information), section 318(4) and 318 (impersonation and fraudulent identity) and section 61(2) (criminal conspiracy).

Charges have also been invoked under Section 14(b) of the Foreigners Act, 1946, relating to illegal stay in India.

Further investigation is in progress, the police said. PTI KIS KSS KSS