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Pakistani couple arrested in city for forgery: Police
In total four people have been booked in the case. however, only 2 were arrested as the others were elderly and sick
Two people allegedly from Pakistan have been arrested by the Bengaluru police for committing forgery, police said on Monday.
Anekal deputy superintendent of police (DSP) BS Mohan Kumar said that the police conducted a raid on an apartment in Jigani, Anekal taluk, on the basis of an intelligence report about two people allegedly from Pakistan living illegally. The arrested were identified as Rasheed Siddiqui, also known as Shankar Sharma (48), and his wife Ayusha Anif, alias Asha Sharma (38). Besides, Ayusha’s parents, Mohammad Hanif (73) and Rubina (61), who were living with the couple, have been placed under surveillance due to their ill health, he said.
He further said: “The authorities had reported that Rasheed Siddiqui had fled Pakistan over religious disputes and initially settled in Dhaka, Bangladesh. In 2014, he and his wife moved illegally to Delhi, where they obtained an Aadhaar card, driving license, and passport through local assistance. By 2018, the family had relocated to Jigani.”
“The police conducted a raid on an apartment on Sunday night based on intelligence information, leading to Siddiqui’s arrest. We booked the four accused under IPC sections 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), and 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record), along with provisions of the Passport Act. We have produced the accused before the ACMM court, which remanded him to police custody for five days,” he said.
The officer said that the police also seized laptops, televisions, and mobile phones from Siddiqui’s residence. “The seized materials are currently being analyzed to further investigate the case. Authorities also found multiple documents under the name Shankar Sharma, including an Indian passport, Aadhaar card, and driving license,” he said.
He said that during investigation it was found that Siddiqui was involved with the Mehdi Foundation, an organisation focused on promoting Sufism. He later fled to Nepal. “He reportedly ran an online food delivery service specialising in biryani after moving to Bengaluru, where he met people named Wasim and Altaf, who assisted him in settling down,” Kumar said adding that the CID had been monitoring Siddiqui’s activities, which led to the late night raid.
In response to the arrests, home minister G Parameshwar said, “We received an information that a Pakistani citizen had been in India for 10 years and came to Bengaluru a year ago. Did the central government not know that he has been here for 10 years? Our police are gathering all the necessary information about this.”
He further said: “The detainee possesses an Aadhaar card and a passport. Action is being taken against illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. We are identifying and sending them back daily. Immigrants are entering illegally due to lax border security, and security at the Bangladesh border must be further tightened.”
HT tried to get response from the BJP on the matter but could not get any reaction.
