Two Foreign Nationals Booked in Boarding Pass Swap Scam at Bengaluru Airport

On June 23, two foreign nationals were detained at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru after allegedly swapping their boarding passes and using fake travel documents to bypass immigration checks.

The accused have been identified as Canadian passport holder Chiwarajah Dachshan and Sri Lankan national Sinnappu Subakaran. Separate criminal cases have been registered against them under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025.

According to immigration authorities, Dachshan was originally booked on an Air India flight (AI-133) to London, while Subakaran was scheduled to fly to Singapore on Singapore Airlines flight SQ-509. The duo allegedly exchanged their boarding passes to travel on different international flights.

Investigators stated that Subakaran attempted to board the London-bound Air India flight using Dachshan's boarding pass. During security and immigration verification, officials discovered discrepancies in his travel documents and realized the boarding pass belonged to another passenger. Further examination revealed forged immigration stamps and fake passport documents.

Meanwhile, Dachshan had already boarded the Singapore Airlines flight to Singapore using Subakaran's boarding pass. However, upon his arrival in Singapore, immigration authorities rejected his entry after he produced a fake Sri Lankan passport. Declared an inadmissible passenger, Dachshan was subsequently returned to Bengaluru.

Immigration officials alleged that the two men deliberately exchanged their boarding passes to evade immigration scrutiny and facilitate international travel under fraudulent identities.

The police registered two connected cases against Dachshan and Subakaran following separate complaints filed by Immigration Officer Kasinatha Durai and airline official Mallesha A.S. The charges were filed under Sections 319(2) and 336(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, along with Section 22 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025.

An investigation is currently underway to determine the source of the forged travel documents and to establish whether a larger document-forgery or human-smuggling network was involved.