Police station in Mumbai becomes home for Pakistani national awaiting deportation

Mumbai: For the last four months, a police station in south Mumbai has become the temporary home of a 65-year-old Pakistani man who has served a sentence for illegal entry into India and is now awaiting deportation.

Nadir Munir Khan, a cloth merchant from Karachi, has been living in a room at Mata Ramabai Ambedkar (MRA) Marg police station since last October.

He can not leave the police station until the deportation, said senior inspector Santosh Dhanavate. Police have issued him a restriction order, forbidding him from stepping outside the premises.

Khan was arrested by officials of the MRA Marg police station on April 11, 2024, after he was found roaming in a suspicious manner near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus in the city.

He told police that he was a Pakistani national. But he had no visa and other necessary documents, so the police arrested him on the charge of illegal entry into India under the Foreigners Act and the Passport Act, the official told PTI on Thursday.

In view of his nationality, the Intelligence Bureau and R&AW (Research and Analysis Wing) too questioned Khan besides the police, the official said.

He was then prosecuted for illegal stay in the country, and a local court sentenced him to six months in prison. He was released on October 11, 2024.

After completing the prison sentence, Khan was again sent to the MRA Marg police station, where he is now waiting for deportation.

"We have contacted Pakistani authorities. We are waiting for their response," the official said.

The police are looking after his daily needs, including food.

According to Khan's statement to the police, he ended up in India via Nepal.

In 2023, he travelled to Kathmandu on a business trip. Some local vendors who had ordered leather jackets cheated him by not making payment for the goods, he told police.

When he confronted them, he was allegedly assaulted and his passport and other documents were stolen.

The Nepal authorities imposed a fine on him for overstaying, following which he crossed into India through Sonauli land port in Uttar Pradesh, from where he went to New Delhi, Khan told police.

After staying in New Delhi for some days, he came to Mumbai in November 2023.

"We have confirmed that he is a resident of Karachi. The Mumbai police's special branch has contacted the Ministry of External Affairs about Khan's deportation. We are now waiting for a response from Pakistani authorities," said inspector Dhanavate.

But until the process is complete, he is the police station's responsibility, the official said.