Guru Sewak Singh, 24, dyed his hair and beard white and wore glasses to allegedly try and convince officials at Delhi Airport that he was a 67-year-old man, NDTV reports.

Police say he intended to use a fake passport to enter Canada and then travel illegally to the US, having paid around $72,000 to a third party to help make the arrangements.

However, immigration officials at the airport were immediately suspicious because Singh’s voice, demeanour and smooth skin seemed inconsistent with the age on his travel documents.

Worse, a photograph of his real passport — showing that he was born in the year 2000 — was subsequently found on his mobile phone.

Singh and his wife are now being prosecuted on charges of possessing forged passports and attempting to travel abroad illegally.