By Tenzin Monlam
DHARAMSHALA, August 5: Four Tibetans including three women have been reportedly arrested by the Indian Immigration authorities at the Indira Gandhi International Airport New Delhi with fake Korean Passports.
According to the Times of India, the four Tibetans arrived at the departure terminal around 2.15 a.m. to get immigration clearance to board a Swiss Airlines flight (LX 147) to Zurich. The officials told TOI that they were holding passport in the names of Lee Wonsic, Lee Seon Hee, Lee Heung Ki and Kim Seok Myeong.
The airlines staff at the ground spotted fake visa stamps of various countries in the passports. Upon interrogation, they said that the fake passports were arranged through a Chinese agent in Nepal and cost Rs 1.2 lakh for each.
The reported real names are Lobsang Dolma, Yangdon, Dawa Chokla and Gyaltsen. However, the Bureau of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in New Delhi said that they are yet to verify their identities.
“We have so far received only a notification from the authorities that they would be approaching us for verifications of the four detainees,” said Tsewang Gyalpo Arya, Secretary at the bureau office.
He also added that in such cases the police contact them for verification with their Identity Certificate (IC) and Registration Certificate (RC) numbers to validate.
It is still unknown where they have been detained.
The detainees told the police that they had entered Nepal illegally and flew to India on July 19. They added that they were going to the European nation for better job opportunities.
“We are trying to trace the agent who gave them the passports. The immigration stamps of arrival and departure at Austria were counterfeit, but the Indian visa was genuine. Travel document used by them have been seized as well,” DCP (IGI) Dinesh Kumar Gupta told TOI.
