A Bangladeshi national suspected of obtaining an Indian passport using fake documents has been arrested after refusing to sing the Indian national anthem at the request of immigration officials, Indian media reported on Wednesday.
Anwar Hussein landed in the southern Indian city of Coimbatore from Sharjah, United Arab Emirates on an Air Arabia flight, according to The Times of India. After showing his passport which listed another city in India, Kolkata, as his primary place of residence, officials started questioning Hussein.
“He gave contradictory answers,” the daily reported, quoting a police official. He also reportedly produced a birth certificate, believed to be fake, and a national identity card called the “Aadhar card”.
At that time, when asked by officials to sing the Indian national anthem, Hussein admitted that he was actually a Bangladeshi citizen from Payari village in Maimensingh district. He was arrested on Monday.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the 28-year-old man was working in Tiruppur in 2018 and obtained his Aadhaar (Indian identification system, based on biometrics) and forged birth certificates at the time. In 2020, using these documents, he obtained a valid Indian passport and traveled to the United Arab Emirates.
The authorities have charged Hussein under the Aliens Act and he is currently in judicial custody.
