Patna- A noteworthy increase in the apprehension of foreign nationals in Bihar has been observed, with a total of 47 individuals hailing from 12 different countries having been detained thus far in the year 2023. The majority of these arrests were made during attempts to enter India illicitly, as reported by a senior police official.
Jitendra Singh Gangwar, Additional Director General of Police (Headquarters), disclosed that out of the 47 foreign nationals taken into custody, 32 were intercepted along the porous Indo-Nepal border in Bihar while attempting unauthorized entry into India.
Of the remaining 15 detainees, six were arrested for gold smuggling, six for violating Bihar’s stringent liquor prohibition laws enforced since 2016, and one individual each for carrying narcotics, foreign currency, and illegal firearms.
In the most recent incident, law enforcement apprehended two foreign nationals – one from Sudan and another from Uzbekistan – who were endeavoring to enter India unlawfully via the Indo-Nepal border in the districts of Sitamarhi and Madhubani, respectively. These arrests transpired on Thursday.
Legal proceedings have been initiated against the two detainees, with separate cases registered at the Sonbarsa police station in Sitamarhi and the Harlakhi police station in Madhubani. Subsequently, both individuals were presented before the courts on Friday and subsequently remanded to judicial custody.
Providing details on the Sudanese national, identified as Nasir Buray Musa Abbas, Gangwar revealed that he was found in possession of a passport, an expired travel document issued by the USA, and a mobile phone. Investigations unveiled Abbas’s prior travels to the United Arab Emirates in February 2023 and Kenya in March of the same year, followed by his arrival in Nepal on a tourist visa, which had lapsed on July 7, 2023.
In Madhubani district, a woman named Mukhabbat Murodova from Uzbekistan was detained by the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), the paramilitary force guarding the Indo-Nepal border, at the Pipron-Jethi checkpoint. She was apprehended while en route to Nepal from India without a valid visa. Intriguingly, the detained woman possessed two passports bearing the same name and an Indian ID card indicating her name as Sultana Sheikh, purportedly a resident of Mahipalpur in Delhi. Ongoing investigations aim to clarify this discrepancy.
Among the foreign nationals arrested in Bihar thus far in 2023, the roster includes citizens from Nepal, Sudan, Myanmar, Russia, Czech Republic, Tibet (China), East Africa (Uganda), Uzbekistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, the United States, and China.
It is imperative to note that due to the open border arrangement between India and Nepal, neither country’s citizens are obligated to possess passports or visas for border crossings.
