UP ATS interrogating Pakistan’s Seema Haider, her Indian partner and his father

The matter surfaced earlier this month after some locals alerted the police that a Pakistani woman was living in the Rabupura area of Greater Noida

The Uttar Pradesh Anti Terror Squad (ATS) on Monday detained Pakistani national Seema Haider, her partner and Greater Noida’s Sachin Meena and his father Netrapal Singh for interrogation, officials said.

Sachin Meena (L) and Seema Haider (R) (AFP Photo)

The trio were picked up from their residence around 1pm and are being questioned at an undisclosed location in Noida, said officials.

The matter surfaced earlier this month after some locals alerted the police that a Pakistani woman was living in the Rabupura area of Greater Noida.

Following this, Noida’s Gautam Budh Nagar Police swung into action and arrested Haider on July 4 for ‘illegally entering India’ via Nepal with her four children – all aged below seven years – while Meena and his father were arrested for sheltering the illegal immigrants.

On July 7, Singh was granted bail by the Gautam Budh Nagar district court in Surajpura, Greater Noida, while Haider and Meena got bail the next day on July 8.

On July 9, Haider and Meena reached their Rabupura residence in the morning, following which they have been the centre of media attention.

According to the additional commissioner of police, Gautam Budh Nagar, Anand Kulkarni, the UP ATS informed the local police about the investigation on Monday morning.

“As per protocol, the UP ATS informed the local Greater Noida Police that they will be questioning Haider, Meena and Singh in relation to concerns regarding national security. When the three were arrested by Gautam Budh Nagar police last month, central agencies and the Uttar Pradesh anti-terror squad were alerted. Hence, they are carrying out investigations on their end as per procedure,” Kulkarni said.

He added that they are only being questioned and have not been ‘picked up’ by the ATS.

Deputy commissioner of police (Greater Noida) Saad Miya Khan had told PTI that a first information report in the case had been lodged at Rabupura police station under provisions of the Foreigners Act, the Passport (Entry into India) Act, and section 120B (party to criminal conspiracy) and 34 (act done by several people with common intention).

Since May 13, Haider and her four children had been living with Meena in a room he rented in Ambedkar Nagar colony, Rabupura.

On June 30, Haider and Meena, who were trying to flee the district by taking a bus to Palwal, were apprehended by the police in Haryana’s Ballabgarh. The four children accompanied the duo.

Among the recoveries made by police from Haider are two video cassettes of her first wedding, one family registration certificate, four birth certificates of her children, an ID card issued by the Pakistan National Database and Registration Authority, five vaccination cards and one bus ticket from Pokhara to Delhi.

Earlier, Haider told HT that she had been with her husband Meena since March this year when the two married at the Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu.

Haider, who hails from the Sindh province in Pakistan, met Meena on the popular online gaming platform PUBG, which led to their friendship. Haider fell in love with Meena and left Pakistan to meet and live with him in India with her four children.

(with PTI inputs)