Image showing refugees queueing up. For representational purposes.
Credit: iStpck Photo
Bengaluru: Bengaluru police say they have arrested another Pakistani family living under Hindu names in the city.
The Jigani police arrested Syed Tariq, 51, his wife Anila Tariq, 48, and their 13-year-old daughter at their rented house near Andrahalli Main Road in Peenya on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday, a senior police officer in the know told DH.
Tariq possessed an Aadhaar that identified him as Chauhan while his wife's Aadhaar gave her name as Deepali Chauhan, the officer added.
Police investigations revealed that the family "illegally" crossed into India in 2014, along with four other Pakistanis who were arrested in Jigani on September 30.
The four Pakistanis led the cops to the three-member family in Peenya, a police officer overseeing the investigation said.
The family initially stayed in Davangere for four months before moving to Kochi in 2015, where they lived until 2019. The same year, they moved to Bengaluru and had been living in Peenya since, police say.
Police believe the three-member family received financial support from Mehdi Foundation International, a London-headquartered organisation founded in 1980 by Ra Riaz Gohar Shahi, who claimed to be Mehdi, a messianic figure in Islam who will appear at the end of times. The organisation "preaches and practises divine love... does not associate itself with any religion," according to its website.
Police noted that the Peenya family received more funds from the organisation than the group arrested on September 30. "We are examining the family's bank transactions, focusing on how the money was used," the first officer said.
Investigators are particularly interested in why this family received such significant funding, and are analysing the spending patterns of both families, along with their motives.
Electronic devices and documents confiscated from the Peenya home will be sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) for data retrieval.
Police suspect other Pakistani families may also be living illegally in Bengaluru and are working to track them down.