MEERUT/BAREILLY: Sixty-five years after she settled in India, a Bareilly-based woman has come under a cloud for holding Indian IDs even though her citizenship is that of Pakistan's. Farhat Sultana had arrived in India as an eight-month-old infant in 1960 from the neighbouring country along with her mother and two sisters following her father's death in Pakistan. The family settled in Bareilly, where her mother later remarried and became an Indian citizen.
Her elder sister also acquired citizenship after marriage, but Farhat never did,even though she married an Indian national. Staying in Bareilly on a valid long-term visa, she was recently found to have an Aadhaar card and a ration card in her name, even though she is not an Indian citizen.
Farhat told police she had applied for citizenship multiple times and assumed she was eligible when she enrolled for Aadhaar in 2010. On Saturday, Farhat was charged under BNS section 318(4) (cheating) and relevant sections of the Citizenship Act for allegedly acquiring Indian identification documents without ever being granted citizenship.
"The action was taken as part of the UP Police's ongoing ‘Operation Khoj' — a drive targeting foreign nationals in possession of illegal documents," said SSP (Bareilly) Anurag Arya.
He added that the case surfaced during a routine patrol on June 11. "A preliminary investigation revealed that she was in possession of an Aadhaar card and a ration card, in which she was listed as the head of the family," he said.
Farhat's mother, Anjum Sultana, had remarried an Indian man after coming to India in 1960, and was subsequently granted Indian citizenship. Farhat grew up in the city, married Shahid Khalil, an Indian national, and raised her children -- two sons and four daughters (aged between 18-30) -- in India. However, she claims she didn't get Indian citizenship "despite multiple visits to govt offices in Lucknow and Delhi and repeated attempts to apply." Her applications, she claimed, went unanswered.
On being queried how she was able to get Indian identification documents, she told the police, "I thought I was eligible. When Aadhaar camps were held in 2010, I enrolled like everyone else." Since then, the card has been her gateway to a normal life: buying SIM cards, getting rations and enrolling her children in school.
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