The discovery of Pakistani citizens residing in Bengaluru’s Jigani under fake Hindu identities with Indian documents has exposed a larger illegal immigration ring, raising concerns about national security and identity verification procedures. 18 illegal Pakistani citizens were recently apprehended by the Karnataka Police in Bengaluru. After Parvez Ahmed, also known as Farvez, was arrested on October 7, ten more people were also arrested. After these arrests, there are currently 22 illegal Pakistani citizens residing in southern India under assumed identities, which includes the four individuals detained at Chennai airport on September 29.
Questioning Parvez, the primary organizer of these illegal immigrants, allowed the officials to monitor, follow, and clamp down on numerous illegal Pakistani immigrants residing in the state under false names. He was apprehended on the outskirts of Bengaluru during his journey from Mumbai. The 18 individuals have declared themselves as Sufis and supporters of Ra Riaz Gohar Shahi, a spiritual figure in Pakistan, and are connected to the Mehdi Foundation International (MFI). The MFI, which was banned in Pakistan, is currently located in London and, as per their website, strives to encourage peace and inter-religious unity.
The NIA and IB are also collecting data on this network and its illegal endeavors. According to reports, the central and state investigative agencies have broadened their scope to catch all the individuals illegally brought to India by Parvez. During interrogation, the suspects disclosed that numerous Pakistani citizens are residing in Delhi, Maharashtra, Assam, Jharkhand, Odisha, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu using false identities and paperwork. This issue needs to be handled with extreme care since it involves the security of the nation. A senior officer stated that the arrested individuals are being interrogated to gather information in order to dismantle the network that has existed for decades.
Parvez, who is from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh, helped these Pakistani citizens and supporters of MFI escape from Pakistan due to their concerns about facing persecution. He first got involved with the MFI in 2007, when 63 members of the group protested in New Delhi by burning their Pakistani passports and seeking asylum in India. One of the demonstrators was a female who eventually wed Parvez. Although some were given refugee status and relocated to European nations, Parvez’s wife stayed in India following their marriage. Currently living in Delhi, she is obligated to report to the Delhi Special Branch on a weekly basis according to her legal status.
Parvez, who also supported the MFI, assisted the arrested individuals in acquiring fake identities, passports, Aadhaar cards, and other Indian paperwork, utilizing money from the foundation to promote their ideologies. Rumors suggest that he came up with the idea of giving Hindu names, Sharma being a common surname, to the undocumented migrants he brought into the country, in order to assist them in evading detection by law enforcement or intelligence agencies.
A local official in the case stated their goal is to locate and apprehend all illegal Pakistani individuals that Parvez has introduced into India within the last 14 years. Parvez’s main job involved assisting MFI members in creating “new fake lives” and developing “self-sustaining economic models”. He was also in charge of organizing their secret arrival in the country, mapping out their journey through Bangladesh, and establishing them with fake Hindu identities to avoid detection. According to a high-ranking police officer involved in the investigation, Parvez established an efficient setup for the illegal Pakistani immigrants he brought to India, making sure they didn’t rely solely on the Mehdi Foundation for financial assistance.
In Jigani, near Bengaluru, Parvez gave Rashid Ali Siddiqui, 48, and his wife Ayesha, 38, from Peshawar, Pakistan, initial funds for their businesses and living costs. They established a business selling engine oil and a delivery-only kitchen offering homemade biryani in the neighborhood. Parvez first paid for their housing, but motivated them to be independent to avoid being noticed by the authorities. The police stated that the couple’s bank accounts in Bengaluru were created using the false Aadhaar cards provided by Parvez, with the names Ram Babu Sharma and Rani Sharma. Ayesha went by the name Asha Sharma, as her parents, Hanif Mohammed and Rubina, took on the names Ram Baba Sharma, 73, and Rani Sharma, 61, respectively.
In 2011, Parvez assisted the Siddiqui family in traveling from Pakistan to Bangladesh with valid visas. In 2014, he illegally took them into India through Malda. A senior police official stated that the family took on new identities and resided in Delhi for four years before Parvez assisted them in building a life in Bengaluru in 2018. They initially claimed to be Hindus and denied any connection to any groups during our raid. Another officer involved in the case revealed that the individuals admitted to being Pakistanis smuggled into the country when shown a Mehdi Foundation International poster found in their residence.
Since 2018, the family had been residing in Jigani using the name Shankar Sharma and family, keeping a low profile. Siddiqui, who supported MFIs, also spread Gohar Shahi’s teachings on Alra TV, a YouTube channel. Siddiqui was said to be connected to Yunus AlGohar, a spiritual leader affiliated with MFI, and was transported to Bengaluru by Parvez with assistance from Wasim and Altaf, two other individuals in the network.
Both of them are currently being held by the Tamil Nadu Police. A senior official explained that they chose Bengaluru because it allows them to remain low-profile in larger cities. They selected a location such as Jigani that is located outside the city limits but still has access to it. The illegal operation was uncovered in Chennai when immigration officials apprehended a group of three, including Mohammed Yasin (aka Karthik Sharma), his wife Zainab Noor (aka Neha Sharma), Altab Ahmed, and his wife Fathima Gohar (aka Nisha), upon their arrival from Dhaka.
Based on their suspicion, the police apprehended them and during questioning, it was discovered that their passports and Aadhaar cards were counterfeit. More inquiry revealed a connection to Karnataka – Altab Ahmed, who was from Davangere. Altab offered false identities to MFI members so they could reside in India and smuggled them into the country in 2020. Highly placed sources claimed that they were reportedly on their way back from Bangladesh after participating in a global religious gathering of the MFI in Dhaka when they were apprehended.
Established in Pakistan during the 1970s, the Mehdi Foundation International (MFI), originally known as the Messiah Foundation, was titled in honor of its creator, Riaz Gohar Shahi. The organization is recognized for advocating the teachings of the anticipated Messiah (Imam Mehdi) and asserts its goal to propagate interfaith unity, divine affection, and spiritual remedy via Sufi guidance.
Gohar Shahi has been banned in Pakistan due to the MFI’s teachings being seen as heretical by Islamic clerics who have issued fatwas against him. Numerous followers have been persecuted, leading some to seek refuge in nations like Bangladesh and India. In 2007, a group of 63 Pakistani microfinance institution members demonstrated at the Pakistan Embassy in New Delhi by setting fire to their passports. Following their initial arrest, the Indian government granted them refugee status in 2011, and they were subsequently relocated to Canada, the USA, and Europe. The organization has now grown internationally, with establishments in the UK, USA, India, Pakistan, and Australia. If any of the arrested individuals in Bengaluru are discovered to have no prior criminal record or ongoing cases, the police department may consider deporting them.