Soni was arrested at the immigration counter while he was on his way to Kingston via London on a British Airways flight. He was travelling with four big suitcases full of Rajasthani goods, including clothes and trinkets.

``He claims to be a Stephanian and was recruited into the IFS in 1975,'' says DCP Dharmendra Kumar of the Foreign Residents Registration Office (FRRO). ``He was stationed in Jordan, Singapore, Karachi and most recently Kingston (Jamaica) and also did a stint at the Ministry of External Affairs.''

Soni's Indian appearance gave him away at the airport. ``The officer at the immigration counter suspected him because his accent and appearance were very Indian even though he claimed to be a foreign diplomat,'' explains Kumar. ``Moreover, the Ministry of External Affairs had issued a circular regarding a vigilance inquiry against Soni with instructions that his documents were to be seized.''

According to officials, Soni's diplomatic passport was seized in Mumbai in April this year after he fled from the Indian High Commission in Kingston, where he had been posted as the first secretary since 1996. During interrogation, Soni apparently said that he was being persecuted in Kingston because of a difference of opinion and had, therefore, left Jamaica.

After his diplomatic passport was seized, Soni apparently got two copies of a Dominican Republic passport printed at a shop in Connaught Place.

``He was aware of the format of a Dominican Republic passport,'' Kumar says.``He also had a seal from the Indian High Commission in Kingston which he used to issue a visa for himself. He probably stole the seal from the High Commission.''

When FRRO officials checked with the High Commission in Kingston, they were told that no passport had been issued to Soni. They also clarified that Soni's passport number was, in fact, the same as the one issued to a Spanish diplomat recently.

Soni came back to India on December 6 to meet his mother and pick up goods to take back to Kingston, where his wife still runs a business. He is believed to have used the forged papers to travel to the USA in May this year. He had gone there to meet his son, who is studying in Chicago. The FRRO is looking into how the US Embassy issued a visa to him.