DNA

• Police wonder if she is part of a bigger racket

Mumbai, Nov 15: Fed up with the constant nagging by her parents to get married, 27-year-old Tina Patel hatched a plan to flee the country and follow her dream of leading an independent life. Such was her desperation that she was even willing to adopt illegal means to ensure her passage out of India.

The US Consulate officials, suspecting that she had applied for a tourist visa using a fake passport, registered a complaint with the Gamdevi police. Patel’s dream was shattered when she was arrested on Tuesday November 13. She has been remanded in police custody till November 20.

Initial investigations have revealed that Patel, a resident of Gujarat, sought her neighbour’s help in fudging an acquaintance’s passport, trying to pass it off as her own so that she could apply for a visa. Patel even furnished a fake marriage certificate, claiming marriage to a certain Shahid Shahi.

The police are also planning to record her parents’ statement to ascertain her claims. Police have taken the passport numbers and traced the woman whose passport Patel had fudged. 

“Patel seemed desperate to go abroad, dreaming of better prospects and freedom,” added the officer.

Police plan to interrogate Patel to figure out the possibility of her falling prey to a bigger racket. “Desperate people like her may be the targets of such rackets,” he said.

Police have also contacted the US Consulate to find out if Patel had applied for a visa earlier. “It appears that she felt this was the last option left for her to achieve her dreams,” said the officer.