UP court sentences Uzbek woman to 2 years imprisonment for using fake passport, visa

A lady from Uzbekistan has been sentenced to two years in prison by a court in Uttar Pradesh for entering India illegally and using a fake passport and visa to enter Nepal.

Maharajganj (Uttar Pradesh): A court here has sentenced a woman from Uzbekistan to two years imprisonment for illegally entering India and using a fake passport and visa to cross over to Nepal, an official said on Saturday. Special Judge Phool Chand Kuswaha pronounced the verdict on Friday after holding Shokhsanam Sapakhonova guilty and also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on her, assistant district government counsel Purnendu Ram Tripathi said.

The judge said the woman would have to undergo an additional two months of imprisonment if she failed to pay the fine, according to Tripathi. Additional Superintendent of Police Atish Kumar Singh said Sapakhonova was on her way to Nepal from Chandigarh when she was arrested by immigration officials in the Sonauli area along the India-Nepal border on August 22, 2022.

A case was registered against her under sections 419 (punishment for cheating by personation), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record) of the IPC and the Foreigners Act. During the hearing in the case, Tripathi prayed for a sentence to deter potential offenders from committing such crimes.