AHMEDABAD, April 21: In a case that sounds more like the plot of a thriller than a routine airport check, a 28-year-old man from Paldi, Ahmedabad, was arrested at the airport after officials discovered he had tampered with his passport to hide his travel history — specifically multiple trips to Thailand — from his wife.

The man had just arrived from Dubai and was going through standard immigration procedures when Officer Kuldeep Karamata noticed something suspicious during document verification. Pages of the passport appeared tampered with, and several official Indian immigration stamps were visibly damaged or faded.

When confronted, the man reportedly broke down and confessed to intentionally scrubbing the pages of his passport with water. His goal? To erase all signs of previous visits to Thailand, trips he had taken without informing his wife.

Unfortunately for him, the plan backfired. According to immigration officials, his actions damaged around eight to nine immigration stamps issued between 2017 and 2025. These included both arrival and departure records from major Indian cities such as Ahmedabad, Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata.

Tampering with a passport is a serious criminal offense under Indian law. The man was immediately detained by airport police, and his passport has been sent for forensic examination. He now faces charges under the Indian Penal Code and the Passport Act, which could lead to hefty penalties and potentially jail time.

An official close to the case commented, “We come across many cases of fake documents, but someone trying to erase their travel history to avoid issues at home — this was definitely unusual.” This incident also shines a light on the growing vigilance of Indian immigration officials, who now rely on enhanced scrutiny and document verification technologies to detect even the slightest irregularities. For travelers, the message is clear: tampering with official documents is not only illegal — it’s bound to be caught.