Afghan man staying in Gujarat illegally for 15 years arrested

The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) has arrested a 55-year-old Afghan national for allegedly residing in India for the past 15 years using fake identification documents, including Indian passport and a voter ID card, officials said on Friday.

Based on a tip-off, the ATS arrested the man, Sardarkhan Pathan, from his residence in Mirzapur area of Ahmedabad city on Thursday, they said.

Pathan, who hails from Kabul in Afghanistan, has been booked under relevant sections of the Passports Act and the Foreigners Act, the ATS said in a release on Friday.

The ATS found two Indian passports, a letter from Afghan foreign affairs ministry, copy of an ID card issued by Pakistan authorities, an Indian voter ID card, Aadhaar card, driving licence and a PAN card from his house, it said.

The preliminary investigation has revealed that Pathan has been staying here for the last 15 years and was involved in the business of money lending, it added.

Pathan told the ATS that his father and uncle used to visit India frequently to sell Afghani hing (asafoetida) and shilajit.

"Around 15 years back, Pathan came to Ahmedabad via Pakistan and Amritsar with his father and started living in Pathan Basti in Dariyapur area of the city. He then acquired Indian passport using bogus documents," the release said.

Meanwhile, his family members, who were still residing in Kabul, fled to Pakistan after the situation in their home country started worsening due to civil war.

According to the ATS, Pathan visited his family in Pakistan using Indian passport and got married for the second time there.

When the situation started worsening in Pakistan also, his family went back to Afghanistan.

"Later, Pathan obtained a new Indian passport on the basis of the old one and visited Afghanistan several times," the ATS said.