Harassed by cops & mob for citizenship proof, say Kargil War veteran’s kin in Pune

Pune: A Kargil War veteran's family in Chandannagar has alleged harassment by the Pune police and a group of unidentified individuals, who stormed their residence around 11.30pm on July 26, asking them to prove their Indian citizenship. Two other members in the family were veterans of the 1965 and 1971 wars. The family members claimed that all the men were then taken to the Chandannagar police station around midnight. "We were told to wait until 3am and produce documents to prove our citizenship, failing which we were threatened that we would be declared illegal immigrants from Bangladesh or Rohingya," a member of the family told TOI.Pune police commissioner Amitesh Kumar on Tuesday told TOI: "The deputy commissioner of police (DCP) for the zone is investigating the matter. If any negligence is found on the part of the police, we will take appropriate action against the personnel involved." He said: "Preliminary investigations revealed that the police personnel did not forcibly enter the house. However, there are allegations by the family regarding the issue. The DCP is verifying the claims."DCP (Zone IV) Somay Munde said: "The family was only asked to produce documents after our team visited the spot based on inputs about some Bangladeshi nationals illegally staying in the locality."Hakimuddin Shaikh (58), who retired as a Naik Havildar from the Indian Army's 269 Engineer Regiment of Corps of Engineers, said: "I served the nation with pride for 16 years, from 1984 to 2000, and even fought the Kargil War in 1999. I am an Indian citizen, and my entire family belongs to this nation just as I do. Then why are we being asked to prove our citizenship? We never imagined something like this would happen to my family."Hakimuddin lived in Pune until 2013 before moving to their hometown. However, the rest of his family members, including brothers, nephews, and their wives, still live in Pune, and they were all asked to prove their citizenship on the night of July 26. The family, originally from Uttar Pradesh's Pratapgarh, shifted to Pune in 1960.Hakimuddin's brother, Irshad Shaikh, said: "Not just my brother, but my two uncles, Shaikh Naeemuddin, who retired from the infantry unit of the Indian Army, and Shaikh Mohammad Salim, who was with the Army's Engineering regiment, also served the nation. Both of them fought in the 1965 and 1971 wars for the country."He said: "What shocked us the most was that it wasn't the police leading the group, but a group of 30-40 unidentified men who were demanding that our family members show them documents. The intruders were shouting slogans when a policeman in plain clothes stopped them. A police van was parked at a distance from our house, where a uniformed officer was waiting."Hakimuddin's nephew Naushad Shaikh said: "Even when we produced documents like Aadhaar cards to prove our citizenship, the individuals who were shouting at everyone, including women and children from our family, said the documents were fake. The individuals were behaving like goons, as some of them were even kicking the door, asking women to wake up and show their documents."Nawab Shaikh, another nephew of Hakimuddin, said he was born in Pune and lived in the city all these years. "When such things happen, common people reach out to the police for help. But when the police themselves help a mob, it is difficult to understand who we should go to," he said.Yet another nephew, Shamshad Shaikh, said: "We were called to the police station the day after the incident. After keeping us waiting for over two hours, we were informed that the police inspector is not coming, and that we can leave. Our documents are still with them." He said the family was yet to understand why the police team had come with a mob late at night instead of directly asking them to show documents.DCP Munde said: "Our team visited the spot based on some information and asked them to show their documents. When it was found that they were Indian nationals staying in the city, we allowed them to go. We have a video recording of the police team's visit to the spot. Our team was not accompanied by any third party."(With inputs from Gitesh Shelke)