Man enters Mumbai airport with fake ticket in search of lost phone

A 37-year-old man arrested after using a fake air ticket to enter the city airport to search for his phone that he had purportedly lost inside the airport last week.

The incident happened on May 14. The 37-year-old man, Noor Shaikh, a Saki Naka resident, made a fake Mumbai - Delhi flight ticket by editing an old Vistara ticket.

The accused had travelled on a flight from Mumbai to Delhi recently and he lost his phone at the airport. He decided to make the fake ticket and enter the airport to check the closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in the arrival area to look for his lost mobile. On a fake ticket, the passenger can go up to the security check where tickets are scanned, TOI reported.

Shaikh used his laptop to edit an old e-ticket, which he then used to gain entry to the Mumbai airport. He managed to clear the Central Industrial Security Force (CSIF) security check point by showing them the forged e-ticket for a Mumbai-Delhi flight on his phone. The forgery came to light only when he tried to use the same ticket to check in.

Seeing that the issuing number on the ticket didn’t match with any of the tickets booked on the flight he was supposed to take, the official took the accused to the control room for questioning. After learning of the situation, they brought him to Sahar Police Station, said the officer.

During interrogation, he confessed to the police that he tried to enter the airport to check his phone, which he lost on the airport premises during his travel from Mumbai to Delhi a week ago. However, Shaikh's family told the police that was depressed after losing his job recently and has been doing such acts without knowing the consequences.