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Seema Haider’s brother in Pak army? Suspense over PubG ‘love story’ deepens
She was questioned about her kin in Pak and claims about her uncle and brother being in the Pakistan army. But Seema said her brother was preparing for recruitment in the army
LUCKNOW Suspense over the cross-border ‘love story’ of Pakistan national Seema Ghulam Haider and her Indian partner Sachin Meena deepened amidst claims of her uncle and brother being in the Pakistan army.
The two made headlines after Seema entered India illegally with her four children to be with her partner. The UP Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) continued to interrogate them on the second consecutive day on Tuesday, but apparently failed to get answers to all questions over her intention behind sneaking into India illegally. Intelligence Bureau (IB) sleuths were also present during the interrogation.
Though UP ATS and senior police officers refused to divulge any details, citing it as a case of national security, some information related to the investigation was shared by reliable sources.
Sources said the IB had sought a report from the Sashastra Seema Bal, the central armed police force, which guards the porous India-Nepal border across the borders of UP and Bihar, about Seema sneaking into Indian territory without being noticed. She had earlier informed the Gautam Buddh Nagar police that she crossed over to India from the Nepal border from Bihar’s Sitamani earlier this month.
Seema and Sachin, along with the former’s youngest child, were taken to the ATS’ safe house in Gautam Buddh Nagar for questioning, sources said.
“The duo was questioned for hours on Tuesday during which she was asked about her kin in Pakistan and claims of her uncle and brother being in the Pakistan army. She, however, denied the claims, stating that her brother was preparing for recruitment in the army,” said a source.
The source said an expert team of the UP ATS scanned the mobile phones of Seema and Sachin and tried retrieving data of past several months so that their online activities could be analyzed to ascertain her intention behind sneaking into India.
On Monday, the duo was taken into custody and allowed to return to their home in a village in Greater Noida in the evening after questioning for around eight hours. The duo was again brought to the ATS safe house in Gautam Buddh Nagar for questioning on Tuesday.
Officers said they were verifying identity proofs and other documents of Seema Haider and her four kids. Prashant Kumar, special director general (law and order), had on Monday said the exercise was part of a general inquiry conducted on all Pakistan nationals living in India without proper documentation.
As per claims, Seema and Sachin had met on PubG, the online multiplayer game that grew in popularity during the pandemic. They began their conversation, and eventually fell in love. According to the two, they first met in Nepal in March 2023, where they got married, and three months later, Seema completed a daring escape from Pakistan with her four children, via Dubai and India’s porous border with Nepal, to arrive in Greater Noida.
Indian authorities were now investigating the possibility of whether Seema Haider is a spy who poses threat to national security. The Noida police had earlier indicated that they found no clear evidence of espionage. The probe was handed over to the ATS on the request of Gautam Buddh Nagar police and ATS ADG Naveen Arora said a team will start investigating the matter.
