An Afghan national overstaying in India since 2018 was arrested from Mauli Jagran, Chandigarh, on Saturday, police said while adding that he had managed to procure Indian identity cards fraudulently.
The accused has been identified as Mohammad Rasool Barak, 37, a native Kandahar, Afghanistan, who had entered India on a student visa in 2015. The visa was valid till 2016 following which he got a two-year extension to pursue a course from Panjab University. He graduated in 2018 and his visa expired. But he continued to live in India as a refugee, working as a taxi driver for Ola and Uber in clear violation of visa regulations that prohibit employment on a student visa.
The Foreigners Regional Registration Office, Amritsar, had alerted the police about Barak’s illegal stay in the country. During the probe, it came to the fore that the accused had fraudulently obtained an Aadhaar card, PAN card and driving licence, by declaring his place of birth as Chandigarh.
After verifying the facts, police registered an FIR under Section 14 of the Foreigners Act and Section 318 (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Following his arrest, he was produced before a local court which sent him to 14 days’ judicial custody.
{{/usCountry}}After verifying the facts, police registered an FIR under Section 14 of the Foreigners Act and Section 318 (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Following his arrest, he was produced before a local court which sent him to 14 days’ judicial custody.
{{/usCountry}}Cops are now investigating if Barak had any associates or networks involved in facilitating his illegal stay and procurement of forged Indian documents.