NEW DELHI: In a twist to the incident of Border Guarding Force BSF intercepting two persons from Iran moving close to the borders with Pakistan in the Barmer District of Rajasthan, it has emerged that even their driver is said to be from Iran.
“The driver, named Akbar Ali, is a dubious person and is an Iranian,” a source said. On the insistence of the Border Security Force (BSF), the Hyderabad police has taken Ali in their custody from the Barmer police for further investigation as the authenticity of his documents appears fake.
This is a serious case and there may be a deep-working network in Hyderabad, added another source. As reported by this newspaper on last Monday, two Iranian passport holders were intercepted by the Border Security Force (BSF) in Munabao when they were moving in a taxi on Monday during the late evening hours.
On initial questioning, their identity has been ascertained as Jahangir Razaei, 48 years and Sara Razdan Joo (female), also of 48 years. The taxi driver belongs to Hyderabad in India. As per the initial information shared by the two Iranian nationals, “They started from Mumbai around four days back for Hyderabad using Google Maps but mistakenly took the route to Hyderabad (Pakistan) and reached Munabao.” As per the additional information elicited from the two, “They arrived in India on 12 November 2022” but “their VISA has expired”.
Both persons are carrying “a letter of UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees), Delhi declaring them asylum seekers. The letter is dated December 9, 2022, and is valid until December 2023. Munabao is a village in Barmer which has its border with Pakistan. It also has one of the designated border crossings between India and Pakistan.
It is through Munabao that the once-a-week Thar Express train used to run between India and Pakistan, crossing into Karachi, passing through Munabao on the Indian side, Zero Point border station, and Khokhrapar on the Pakistan side.