Afghan national held in Maharashtra

Akola (Maharashtra), Jan 13 (IANS) An Afghan national has been arrested here for overstaying his visa period and five people, suspected to be from Pakistan or Bangladesh, have been detained, police said Tuesday.

The Afghan national, Nadir Khan Musa Khan, was arrested during Monday night with the help of the Railway police, special branch police inspector K.B. Surushe told IANS.

He had come here from Kolkata to visit a durgah or shrine in Mangrulpir town of Akola district, about 700 km from Mumbai, along with five people including a minor lad, Surushe said.

While Nadir was arrested as his tourist visa had expired last month, the others have only been detained for interrogation as they have produced some documents like driving licence and permanent account number (PAN) card to support their claim that they are Indians.

'We are trying to verify their claim and get some more documents from government authorities in Kolkata and Guwahati where they claim to be residing for the last over 10 years,' the police official said, declining to comment on a surmise that they could be infiltrators from Bangladesh or Pakistan.

Direct conversation with the Afghan national has not been possible as he does not know Hindi, Surushe said.