Police to take 3 Pak nationals, Keralite into custody again

To probe motive behind obtaining Aadhaar cards

The city police will take the three Pakistani nationals and the Keralite again into custody, this time for questioning over their motive for obtaining Aadhaar cards.

Sameera (25) and her two cousins Kiran Ghulam Ali (26) and Kashif Shamsuddin (30), all from Karachi, Pakistan, along with the Keralite Mohammad Shihab, were arrested on May 25 by Central Crime Branch sleuths on the charge of staying illegally in the country for the past nine months. The three had even obtained Aadhaar cards after fabricating documents with the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) officials.

“During the course of investigation, we stumbled upon more information. We have to question them on the reasons why they procured Aadhaar cards,” City Police Commissioner Praveen Sood said on Tuesday.

The investigating officials may also visit Qatar to verify and corroborate all information they have retrieved from the three Pakistani nationals and the Keralite.

The police are also probing the travel routes of the accused from Kathmandu to Patna and then to Bengaluru. It is impossible for the four accused, at least the three Pakistanis, to cross the Indo-Nepal border without help from others who are yet to be identified, the police said. “We have collected information from the accused and we are in the process of verifying and corroborating it,” said a senior police officer privy to the investigation. “We have also involved the central intelligence agencies and agencies abroad who have been kept in the loop about all information we have procured from the accused so far,” the officer said.

While in police custody earlier, the four told the police that they had come to India for love. Shihab fell in love with Sameera but her parents objected. Hence Sameera, with the help of two of her cousins Kiran and Kashif, who were also in love with each other, planned to elope, come to India and settle down with the help of Shihab. The three travelled from Qatar to Muscat, and from Muscat to Nepal, joined Shihab there and the four travelled to Patna and then to Bengaluru.

“We are verifying their version and the exact reason why they settled down in the city. Our job is not to accept what anyone says, but probe and verify the facts to ascertain the truth. We will do our homework till we get answers to all the questions,” Sood added.