Summary: A British citizen, Kandiah Rajagopal, was arrested in Bengaluru after allegedly handing his Virgin Atlantic boarding pass to a friend who lacked a valid UK visa, allowing the friend to board a London flight. Airport staff grew suspicious when Rajagopal waited in the departure lounge for about eight hours without a pass, and immigration officers alerted the airline. The friend was detained on arrival in the UK and faces deportation, while Rajagopal has been charged under the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, remanded to custody and may face up to seven years in prison.
British Man Arrested After Allegedly Handing Boarding Pass To Migrant At Bengaluru Airport
Kempegowda International Airport in Bangalore, where Kandiah Rajagopal raised suspicions after spending eight hours in the departure lounge - Creative Touch/NurPhoto via Getty
A British businessman, Kandiah Rajagopal, 52, has been detained in Bengaluru after police say he gave his Virgin Atlantic boarding pass to a friend who did not hold a valid UK visa. Authorities allege the friend then used that pass to board a London-bound flight from Kempegowda International Airport (KIA).
What Happened
Police say Mr Rajagopal, from Northolt in west London, handed his boarding pass to Sharusan Kunasekaran in a lavatory at KIA. Mr Kunasekaran is reported to have taken the seat assigned to Mr Rajagopal on the 7:20am Virgin Atlantic flight to London Heathrow.
Both men are said to have passed through security and immigration using their own, valid identity documents earlier that morning. Airport police told reporters that Mr Kunasekaran had also booked an IndiGo flight to Singapore for 10:20am on the same day.
How Suspicion Arose
Suspicion was raised when Mr Rajagopal remained in the departure lounge for about eight hours without a boarding pass. Immigration officials alerted Virgin Atlantic, which discovered that someone had boarded under Mr Rajagopal’s name.
Police Inspector Mallikarjun said: "He was just waiting in a lounge for a long time. He was not carrying any boarding pass. Without a boarding pass, no one is allowed to enter the immigration area. They got suspicious and took him into custody and enquired."
Inspector Mallikarjun also criticised airline procedures: "The fault lies with the airline officials, who didn’t check the passport and boarding pass together. They allowed him to enter the flight without cross-checking the documents."
Aftermath
Mr Kunasekaran was arrested on arrival in the UK and faces deportation proceedings. Mr Rajagopal has been charged under the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, remanded to Bengaluru Central Prison and has applied for bail. Authorities say he has also sought assistance from the British embassy.
Police said Mr Rajagopal, who obtained British citizenship after seeking asylum during the Sri Lankan armed conflict, runs a hotel in London and has lived there for around 30 years. He travelled to India on a tourist visa and visited several tourist and pilgrimage sites in southern India.
If convicted, Mr Rajagopal faces up to seven years in prison under the charges reported by local authorities. The Home Office and Foreign Office were contacted for comment.
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