HYDERABAD: The unidentified woman, for whom Telangana Rashtra Samithi MLA Kasipeta Lingaiah allegedly secured a passport in his wife's name, had not flown abroad from Hyderabad, police said on Thursday.

City Police Commissioner Balwinder Singh told The Hindu that inquiries revealed that the woman in question did not board any international flight from Rajiv Gandhi International Airport. "However, there is every possibility that she used the passport to fly abroad from any other international airport in the country," he said. A hunt was launched for the TRS MLA and the woman after registering a case against them on charges of cheating and impersonation. Asked about the possibility of any of the Special Branch officials manning the immigration counters at the airport aiding persons carrying fabricated travel documents, he said such incidents were rare.

Mr. Singh said the SB officials were doing a commendable job by catching passengers trying to board flights with invalid documents.

In 2005, 129 persons were caught at the airport for violating different provisions of the Passport Act, while 54 persons were arrested on the charge of trying to fly with fake visas or Emigration Check Not Required (ECNR) stamps. The corresponding figures for the year 2006 are 70 and 16. In 2007 so far, 24 persons were booked for Passport Act violations while three were held for possessing fake visas or ECNR stamps.

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