Cops say couple has a 23-yr-old son who was born in India but they will arrest him too
Iqbal Hanif Sheikh, 43, a labourer, and his wife Adori Iqbal Sheikh and Advocate Sunil Pandey
The Versova police have arrested a Bangladeshi couple who had been residing illegally in India for the past 25 years, officials said. Police have identified the couple as Iqbal Hanif Sheikh, 43, a labourer, and his wife Adori Iqbal Sheikh, 37, a housewife. The police said that the couple has a 23-year-old son who was born in India, adding that he will also be arrested as according to the Indian Citizenship Act, if parents are residing illegally in India, their children born in India will not acquire Indian citizenship.
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Officials said that Iqbal, along with his wife Adori, illegally entered India about 25 years ago in search of work and began working on construction sites as labourers. After two years, they had a son. Police said they found out about their illegal stay through a tip-off and under the guidance of Senior Inspector Gajanan Pawar, a team was formed consisting of investigation officer PSI Sachin Ugle from ATC, and Constables Ganesh Khondge, Prashant Khairnar, and Nitin Thombre to apprehend the accused couple. They were arrested on February 15. “The couple admitted they are Bangladeshi citizens, and we have arrested them for living in India without valid passports and visas. We will arrest their son too as he is also residing without valid documents,” said a police officer.
A senior police officer on condition of anonymity said, “Bangladeshis are hiding their identities in India and changing their names. They are also making duplicate IDs claiming to be Indian citizens.” “In many cases they get bail while many times they prove to be Indian citizens with fake documents. Due to many challenges and lengthy procedures, we are facing difficulties in investigation,” said the officer.
Speaking on the incident, advocate Sunil Pandey said that as per Citizenship Act, 1955, at least one parent should be a citizen of India, for their children to be an Indian citizen. Additionally, the other parent should not be an illegal immigrant. The rules specified under the Citizenship Amendment Act 2020 state that the applicants will have to provide six types of documents and specify their ‘date of entry’ in India. These rules will enable minorities persecuted on religious grounds in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan to acquire citizenship in India, said Pandey.
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