BENGALURU: The three Pakistani nationals and a Keralite, who were arrested on Wednesday, were staying in a rented house in Kumaraswamy Layout since October 2016, said relative of house owner Natesh. Neighbours, who Express spoke to, said they had no complaints about the couples. Pushpanjali, a neighbour, said that both couples were very friendly. “We never saw anyone else, not even visitors, since the four of them moved into the house,” she said. Neighbours said they would often come out and talk to them and therefore no one suspected the others were from Karachi.
Shihab fluent in Kannada
Natesh told police that the house was given on rent in October 2016. Shihab met the landlady through a broker and spoke to her in Kannada.Shihab claimed that he completed his BE degree in Dayanand Sagar College and was working as an electrician in Dubai. He said he had returned from Dubai to start his own business and informed the landlady that the four of them would stay in the house. But for the past three months he had not paid the rent, Natesh told police, adding that initially he also did not provide any documents.
Some of Shihab’s relatives called the landlady over phone to persuade her to give the house and the owner agreed. Police officials also refuted rumours that Sameera was pregnant when they came to the city.
No passports recovered from them yet
A senior police officer from CCB said they have not recovered passports from them yet. He added that Shihab and Sameera first came to the city and then Kiran joined along with her husband Qasib. “So far we only know that three of them were not working anywhere. Based on a tip-
off, CCB police gathered information about their illegal stay and raided the house,” the police officer added.
“It is too early to say anything about the exact purpose for their stay. We are questioning a few other persons who helped them get fake Aadhaar cards and other documents in the city,” the officer added.
The information has been shared with Central agencies, Police Commissioner Praveen Sood said.
