In July, the Pimpri-Chinchwad police arrested four Rohingya people – two men and their wives – for illegally staying in India. They lived in Dehu Road, Cantonment area of Pune. Investigation revealed that one of them, 43-year-old Muzammil Mohammad Amin Khan, built a house in Pune and bought Indian identity cards including passports for himself and his wife.
According to police records, Khan had taken a “maulana course” from the Islamic Organization of Myanmar and lived there with his wife and two daughters. In December 2012, the family migrated to Bangladesh. While living in a refugee camp in Bangladesh, Khan looked for work, but was unsuccessful and learned of job opportunities in West Bengal.
Meanwhile, according to the police, Khan separated from his wife and married a Rohingya woman named Shafika, with whom he then had a son. It is alleged that he crossed the international border in West Bengal along with his second wife and son and entered India in mid-2013. He went to Kolkata, but could not find a proper job.
Khan then came to Pune by train and worked in a private company in Talegaon MIDC. The company gave him a room where he started living with his family. Investigation revealed that an employee of the company, who has not yet been identified, was involved in bringing the goods from Myanmar and Bangladesh to Pune.
To supplement his income, Khan started selling children’s clothes on Dehu Road after bringing them from Bhiwandi in Thane district.
The investigation also showed that Khan took the Aadhaar number from a shop in Bhiwandi by paying Rs 500 without providing any documents. Bhiwandi agents submitted fake documents in Khan’s name at the Aadhaar enrollment center and got him an Aadhaar card, which police suspect turned out to be his Indian identity document. He then got an Aadhaar card for his wife too, they said.
At a mosque in Pune, Khan met Kamalbhai, who told him about the supari (betel nut) business. Khan started selling betel nuts in the local market. During this period, she came in contact with Chandrabhaga Kambel at Dehu Road.
According to the police, Khan “bought” about 600 square feet of land adjacent to Kamble’s house in the Gandhi Nagar area of Dehu Road by paying him Rs 80,000 in cash. They have not prepared any documents for the purchase of real estate. Khan took possession of the land and built a house. He stayed there with his family for almost a decade, pretending to be an Indian citizen, ignoring any police agency. His wife gave birth to a daughter and he got an Indian passport and started selling betel nuts.
But Khan was snared by the police when a team from the Pune unit of the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad reached his house in July with Shahid alias Sohiddul Sheikh, a 35-year-old Rohingya man from Myanmar.
Sheikh was arrested by the ATS from Dehu Road on charges of illegally residing in India with his wife since 2015. Shaikh told the police that “Muzammil Mamu” of Dehu Road was also from Myanmar. Then the police took Khan into custody.
An FIR was registered against Sheikh, Khan and their wives on July 27 at the Dehu Road police station under the jurisdiction of the Pimpri-Chinchwad Police Commissionerate. They have been prosecuted under the Aliens Act and the Passport Act.
According to the FIR, police recovered mobile phones, SIM cards, Aadhaar cards, PAN cards and Bangladeshi notes from the suspects and Indian passports issued to Sheikh, Khan and Shafika. According to the FIR, Khan’s “Maulana Course” certificate and Myanmar identity card bearing his name and photograph were also seized. Police said the accused were later released on bail and the case is pending in court.
Indian Express visited Khan’s house on Dehu Road twice and found it locked. He and his family members were not available for comment. Family members of Chandrabhaga Kamble, who sold her land to Khan, said they were not aware of his foreign citizenship. Kambel died a few years ago and the land is still in his name in the government records, while Khan took the electricity bill in his name, police said. Neighbors said they knew Khan as Supariwala and had not seen him for the past few days.
The police are trying to cancel the passport
The Pimpri Chinchwad police have written to the passport authorities to cancel the passports of Myanmar’s Muzammil Khan and other suspects. Indian passports were recovered from several Bangladeshi infiltrators arrested in Pimpri-Chinchwad this year. Police have informed passport offices in Pune and Goa about 65 Indian passports allegedly illegally purchased by citizens of Bangladesh and Myanmar. Some Bangladeshis had gone abroad using Indian passports, said Assistant Police Inspector VD Raut of the Anti-Terrorism Bureau (ATB) of the Pimpri-Chinchwad police. Deputy Commissioner of Police Shivaji Pawar, who supervises ATB, said that the activities of suspicious foreign nationals are being closely monitored.