Bihar/Lucknow, Aug 18 (IANS) In two separate incidents, security agencies apprehended two foreign nationals at the India-Nepal border in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, officials said on Tuesday.
The two cases involve a Somali national detained near the border in Bihar and a Thai woman apprehended in Uttar Pradesh after allegedly being found with forged Indian identity documents.
In the first case, an African national was detained by the Motihari Police in Bihar near the India-Nepal border. According to officials, the man claimed to be a student of Nizam College in Hyderabad. He was taken into custody by the Motihari Police and the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) after security personnel found his movements suspicious.
The detained individual is reportedly a native of Somalia. During preliminary questioning, he identified himself as a student at Nizam College, Hyderabad. However, officials found that the passport in his possession had expired.
Security agencies have consequently launched a detailed inquiry to ascertain the circumstances of his stay in India and his presence in the sensitive border region.
According to officials, the SSB’s Bhangha team intercepted the foreign national near Sainik Road, close to the India-Nepal border, within the jurisdiction of Jharokhar police station. The man had reportedly travelled from Delhi to the border area via Ghorasahan and was attempting to proceed to the India-Nepal border when security personnel noticed him.
The security personnel stopped and questioned him after finding his movements suspicious. After confirming that he was a foreign national, the SSB and local police officials took the matter seriously and began scrutinising his documents and other belongings.
Particular attention is being paid to his expired passport, the circumstances surrounding his entry into India, and his subsequent travel to the border region. Officials are also investigating when and for what purpose he entered India.
Security agencies are also gathering information about the people with whom the youth may have been in contact during his journey from Delhi to Ghorasahan.
Senior SSB and police officials are currently questioning the detained youth. Officials said that all aspects of the case are being examined.
The police have also seized a mobile phone, Rs 25,000 in Indian currency and other documents from the detained foreign national.
The second case was reported from the border area in Uttar Pradesh, where a Thai national was apprehended at the Sonauli immigration office near the Nepal border in Maharajganj district.
The woman was allegedly found carrying forged Indian identity documents, following which the police registered a case and initiated an investigation.
According to officials, fake Indian identity documents were found on the woman’s mobile phone during the immigration process. The discovery prompted immediate action by the authorities, who subsequently took her into custody and began examining the circumstances under which the documents were allegedly created and used.
The woman has been identified as Chon Chutichiraphat, a Thai national who was carrying her original Thai passport bearing number AC2825032.
During the investigation, officials recovered digital copies of an Aadhaar card, a Voter ID bearing number ZMY4348066 and a PAN card bearing number DAFPD459D from her mobile phone. All the documents were allegedly issued in the name of Karuna Rupni Devi Dasi, identified as the wife of Mitralal Khanal, a Nepali citizen and resident of the Vaishnav Nagar area of Vrindavan’s Ramanreti in Mathura.
According to the investigation, the woman had married Mitralal Khanal in Thailand in 2005. In 2006, she travelled to India with her husband and began living in a rented house in Mathura. The couple later purchased land in Mathura in 2011 and constructed their own house there.
Officials said that forged Indian documents were subsequently created by allegedly changing her name and identity. The woman has two children, Nandani, 20, and Neeraj, 18, who are also reportedly living and studying in Mathura.
The woman had travelled to Nepal on May 19 and subsequently returned to India on August 16. During the immigration process at Sonauli, the alleged forged documents came to light, following which authorities initiated action against her.
A case has now been registered under relevant provisions of law. Police and security agencies are continuing their investigation, while further legal action in the matter is underway.
–IANS
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