Representative image for arrest.
Credit: iStock photo
Bengaluru: The Bengaluru police have arrested 10 Pakistani nationals on charges of staying illegally in India, filing a fresh FIR on Tuesday evening, according to a police source.
The persons are linked to the Mehdi Foundation International (MFI), a UK-based organisation promoting the "Goharian Philosophy of Divine Love".
This follows the Jigani police's recent arrests of two Pakistani families, totalling seven members, between September 29 and October 2. Investigations into these cases led the police to Parvez, a man from Uttar Pradesh, who allegedly helped the families settle in India. Parvez’s arrest prompted the latest FIR.
A senior officer overseeing the case confirmed the new arrests, which include six women and four men, aged between their late 20s and late 50s. The persons were reportedly using both Hindu and Muslim aliases, with some posing as couples and others as individuals residing together. However, the police caution that this information is based on an initial probe, and further verification is ongoing.
"All of them were outside Bengaluru, but happened to be in the city on Tuesday, where they were arrested,” the officer stated.
MFI prez statement
MFI President Amjad Gohar claimed that those arrested were instructed to surrender to authorities, which they complied with.
He stated that six of them arrived in India in 2007 and the remaining four in mid-2010, adding that six of them have submitted asylum applications recognised by the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Gohar added that the six people who arrived in 2007 did so shortly after a protest by 63 Pakistani nationals near Jantar Mantar. He maintained that no additional MFI affiliates are in India and that all have surrendered.
Since police remain tight-lipped about the matter, DH is unable to independently verify Gohar’s claims.