Indian man beats five security checkpoints in Mumbai and Abu Dhabi, enters UAE on his namesake’s passport

Abu Dhabi: In a major security lapse, an Indian worker has landed in Abu Dhabi with the passport and visa of his namesake, XPRESS has learnt.

Mohammad Vasim, 31, who arrived here on April 4, was reportedly given the passport and visa of another man in India, named Mohammad Wasim, by the recruiting agents.

Both men were recruited by the same oil and gas company in Abu Dhabi.

A company official who does not want to be named told XPRESS that the ‘V’ and ‘W’ bungle happened when the recruiting agent in Mumbai mixed up the documents.

“We have sent visas for these two people who carry the same name. Even their surnames are the same except that one is spelt Wasim and the other Vasim with a V,” he said.

According to him, Vasim even tried to explain to the recruiting agents in India that he has got the wrong documents.

“But he tells us that they did not bother to listen or check, and insisted that if he does not travel, he will have to bear a huge cost,” the official said.

What perplexes both the company and Vasim himself is why the security officials at Mumbai and Abu Dhabi airports did not spot the discrepancy.

“Vasim cleared five security checkpoints in both airports. No one stopped him though there is no resemblance between Vasim and Wasim’s photo on the travel documents,” said the company representative.

Vasim came to Abu Dhabi to work as a rigger last month. But his future is now uncertain as he has ended up on the wrong side of the law by entering the country on invalid documents.

His namesake Wasim is still in India and his visa is also now invalid.

The Indian Embassy has confirmed that the company has approached the mission to solve the riddle.

“We have issued him an emergency travel document after taking back the wrong passport. It is for the UAE authorities to decide whether the man should be deported,” said an embassy official.