Four Afghan nationals arrested for illegal stay

According to an initial probe, the four came to India in November 2016 on a tourist visa. They were not employed and are suspected to be involved in illegal activities for money, the police said

The chief minister’s flying squad on Sunday raided a house in Jharsa village of Sector 39 and arrested four Afghanistan nationals for allegedly overstaying in India after their visa and passports expired.

The police said they were sent to 14-day judicial custody and that the embassy and central agencies have been informed.

Officials said they were tipped off about the matter and the police will seek custody of the foreign nationals. Officials said that they are probing the case and that they had entered the country on tourist visas.

The suspects were identified as Abdul Gaffar Nori, Mohammad Shabbir, Islam Aariya and Mohammad Yasin Shahadat of Kabul in Afghanistan. The police said they have booked the house owner, named Punit Kumar, for not informing the police and failing to get a police verification conducted.

A case under sections 14A , 14B and 14C of the Foreigners Act and Section 12 (1A) of the Passport Act was registered at Sadar police station on Sunday.

Inderjeet Yadav, the deputy superintendent of police, crime investigation department, said that they were living in a rented accommodation. “We immediately informed seniors regarding the information, following which a joint team was formed and the house raided,” he said.

According to an initial probe, the four came to India in November 2016 on a tourist visa. They were not employed and are suspected to be involved in illegal activities for money, the police said.

Yadav said, “During verification, it was found that they were residing without legal documents. Their travel documents were also not valid. They were living in the area for the past four years.”

“The Afghanistan Embassy and central intelligence agencies have been informed about this arrest. The police is questioning them to establish their antecedents,” said Harish Budhiraja, inspector, chief minister’s flying squad.

The police said that during the raid, the four of them tried to mislead the police by claiming that they were not carrying their documents and tried to flee but were caught.

According to the police, the suspects said that their visa and other travel-related documents expired but that they had submitted a copy of these documents to the Foreigners Registration Officer (FRO) in 2016.

The police said they were sent to 14-day judicial custody on Sunday.