Sudanese man arrested for forging residential permit

The Bengaluru city police have arrested a 25-year-old African national who forged the validity date in his residential permit to trick the police and FRRO.

The man forged the documents with the intent to overstay and to escape the deportation drive against foreigners whose visas have expired.

The arrested has been identified as Abdel Monim Issamedidin Abdalwhab Mohammad, a resident of Geddalahalli from Krishnarajpuram Hobli, the police said. The Sudanese man arrived in the city on December 1, 2017.

According to the police, Mohammad's residential permit was valid only until May 17, 2018, after which he had to return home. In the wake of the recent drive by the city police and FRRO (Foreigners Regional Registration Office), targeting overstaying foreigners in the city, the police collected their documents to verify with the FRRO if they were genuine.

When the set of documents were submitted before the FRRO, they stumbled on Mohammad's forged residential permit. "He had forged the original residential permit altogether with the use of a computer. The validity date was altered from May 17, 2018, to August 16, 2018, which did not match with the records available with the FRRO," a senior police officer said.

A senior official from the FRRO then lodged a complaint with the Wilson Garden police, who registered an FIR and booked Mohammad under IPC Sections 420 (cheating), 468 and 471 (forgery using an original/genuine document) and 474 (having possession of a forged document).