Fed up with the political instability in their country, a woman from Afghanistan tried to take her 20-year-old niece and 13-year-old son to London via India illegally, in the hope of a better life
Fed up with the political instability in their country, a woman from Afghanistan tried to take her 20-year-old niece and 13-year-old son to London via India illegally, in the hope of a better life. The family, however, couldn't get far and after getting into trouble with officials at Mumbai airport, ended up in a jail in the city. The court sentenced them for violating immigration passport laws.
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The accused will return to Kabul after the sentence. Representation Pic
While the boy was immediately sent back to Afghanistan after fining the family R10,000, the two women will return only on completion of their sentence.
Passport forgery
Zemari Qadeer, 42, whose husband is a prominent doctor in Afghanistan, decided to send her niece Azizi Ehsanullah, 20, who is engaged to a UK national, and son to London. During probe, the Sahar police found that Qadeer contacted a passport agent in Afghanistan, who told her that going to London directly would be tough and attract the attention of security agencies. Hence, via India was a better option.
"Qadeer paid him $70,000 (R45.5 lakh) for making the necessary arrangements for the two. The agent prepared fake Bulgarian passports for them, which they used to enter Delhi in mid-June," said inspector Raghunath Kadam, investigating officer.
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In the third week of June, when they were trying to fly to London on the fake passports, security officers of a British airline at Delhi's IGI International Airport got suspicious during a check. They sent the passports to the Bulgarian embassy and asked the family to contact officials there and collect their documents from them.
Aware of the risks involved in going to the embassy, they realised their plan had been foiled. They decided to return to Afghanistan, contacting the agent and paying him another $2,000 for making the necessary arrangements.
Point of 'no return'
On June 25, the three used their real passports to return to their country via Dubai. But when immigration officials at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai, couldn't find records on their database of them entering India, the three were handed over to the Sahar police.
The police charge-sheeted them under relevant sections of the Passport Act, Foreigner's Act and IPC, arresting the two women and sending the boy to the children's home in Dongri.
The women pleaded guilty before the court, and Qadeer said she feared for the safety and future of her niece and son, and hence, wanted to send them to London, the police said. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Dr DL Nikam, while announcing a final verdict in the case recently, observed, "Looking at the nature of the offence, an opportunity to reform may be extended. It deserves a lenient view and moderate punishment, otherwise there is every likelihood… in the company of hardened criminals, they may follow suit."
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The judge had sentenced the two women to three months' simple imprisonment, slapping a penalty of R500 each. He ordered that the boy be deported immediately, slapping a fine of R10,000, which the woman paid. The two women completed their sentence on Sunday and will be sent back to Afghanistan.
The police have shown an agent from Afghanistan and an Indian as wanted accused in the case.
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