BENGALURU: Four Pakistanis, who were living on the outskirts of Bengaluru with fake identities for the last six years, were arrested on Sunday night. Investigations revealed that the prime accused fled Pakistan and Bangladesh due to harassment by religious leaders.
The accused have been identified as Rashid Ali Siddiqui alias Shankar Sharma (48), his wife Ayesha Anif alias Asha Rani (38), her mother Rubina alias Rani Sharma (61), and father Hanif Mohammed alias Ram Babu Sharma (73). The family was staying in an apartment in Rajapura in Jigani police limits and Siddiqui was supplying oils to garages, and also selling food items.
The police said the arrests were made based on a tipoff from central intelligence agencies, which had recently arrested two Pakistanis at Chennai airport with fake passports. During questioning, those individuals claimed that they were relatives of Siddiqui living in Bengaluru.
The Jigani police, following this information, traced the house where the family of four lived in Rajapura village and arrested them. The family, after knowing about the arrests in Chennai, was preparing to vacate the house, police said, adding that those arrested in Chennai were Siddiqui’s brother-in-law and his wife.
Upon questioning, Siddiqui, who identified himself as Sharma, showed his passport and Aadhaar card. However, the house had photos and books related to Islam, as well as a photo of the Mehdi Foundation International Jashan-E-Younus. When he was pressed by police, Siddiqui further revealed that he had married Rubina and moved to India in 2014. They initially settled in Delhi and managed to obtain fake Aadhaar cards, voter IDs, passports, PAN cards, and driving licences. In March 2018, they relocated to Bengaluru.
According to the FIR, Siddiqui is from Liaquatabad in Karachi, and his wife and her family are from Lahore. He married Ayesha, who was in Bangladesh, through online. The religious leaders in Pakistan harassed him, prompting his move to Bangladesh.
While in Bangladesh, he served as a preacher and worked with the Mehdi Foundation, which covered his expenses. However, he faced harassment from religious leaders there as well. In 2014, after contacting a man named Parvez from the foundation in India, he illegally entered India, paying an agent, who facilitated their passage through Malda in West Bengal, and they stayed in Delhi. While in Delhi, Siddiqui preached to others about Islam through Alra TV.
After a visit to Nepal in 2018, he met Wasim and Altaf, both members of the Bengaluru Mehdi Foundation. Altaf took care of the house rent, while Siddiqui continued his religious preaching on television.
The police are currently questioning the four about Siddiqui’s network, workplace, and activities during their time in Bengaluru. They collected documents from the residence and conducted a search, while the four were taken for medical examinations on Monday. The police have arrested four and are searching for Parvez and others.
The police have registered a case under Sections 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), and 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record) of the IPC, as well as under the Sections of the Passport Act.