Seema Haider Case: 5 Pakistani Passports, 4 Mobile Phones Recovered After Questioning | Key Findings

Amid the ongoing probe into the illegal entry of Pakistani citizen Seema Haider into India, with the Uttar Pradesh Police’s Anti-Terrorist Squad recovering five “authorised” Pakistani passports and mobile phones after questioning, the Ministry of External Affairs stated on Thursday that the government is aware of the matter and will provide information once details are revealed.

MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “We are aware of the matter. She was presented before the court and is now out on bail. The matter is under investigation, and we will provide further information if it becomes available. As of now, this is all I can say.”

The statement came as Central investigation agencies met with the Noida Police in connection with the case. While the UP ATS questioned Haider and her Indian partner Sachin Meena for two days, the Noida Police is separately investigating the case, and they are yet to file a charge sheet.

The Uttar Pradesh Police’s Anti-Terrorist Squad questioned the couple on Monday and Tuesday.

Officials have said they are trying to find out which identification cards were submitted by Sachin to get a forged Aadhar card made for Haider.

Pakistani Spy? Questions Arise Amid Recovery of 5 ‘Authorised’ Passports

The case is being investigated with a possible spy angle, a claim Uttar Pradesh Special Director General of Police, Prashant Kumar, has neither confirmed or denied citing lack of “enough proof”.

Regarding the ATS questioning, the state police said two video cassettes, four mobile phones, five “authorised” Pakistani passports and one “unused passport” with incomplete name and address, and an identity card have been received from Seema Haider.

When asked if Haider could be a Pakistan spy, the Special DGP said that it is too early to say. “The matter is related to two countries. Till we have enough proof, it would not be appropriate to say anything in this regard,” he said.

On the entry of a Pakistani citizen into India through the Nepal border, Kumar denied it being a security lapse, stating the border is porous and no passports are required. He added that no team will be sent to Nepal for investigation.

Regarding the possibility of deportation, Kumar evaded a direct reply, mentioning that actions would be taken as per legal procedures

Seema Haider, from Sindh province in Pakistan, illegally entered India with her four children on May 13 via Nepal, traveling by bus. She claimed that she had come to live with her lover, Meena, who resides in the Rabupura area of Greater Noida.

ATS Probe Findings

The couple first connected in 2020 through the online game PUBG. After 15 days of gaming, they exchanged their WhatsApp numbers, as stated by the UP police in a statement on Wednesday, summarizing the findings of the ATS questioning that took place on Monday and Tuesday.

According to the police, Meena and Haider met for the first time in person in March of this year in Kathmandu, Nepal, where they stayed together from March 10 to 17. Haider traveled from Pakistan to Nepal, taking the Karachi-Dubai route, and arrived on a 15-day tourist visa on May 10.

In Nepal, she made her way from Kathmandu to Pokhara, where she spent the night. On the morning of May 12, Haider boarded a bus from Pokhara and crossed the border into India through the Roopandehi-Khunwa (Khunwa) border district Siddharthnagar. Traveling via Lucknow and Agra, she reached the Rabupura cut, Gautam Buddha Nagar, on March 13. Meena had already rented a room in Rabupura, where they started living together, according to the UP police’s statement.

On July 4, local police arrested Haider for illegal entry into India, while Meena was arrested for sheltering illegal immigrants. However, both of them were granted bail by a local court on July 7, and they have been living together with her four children in a house in the Rabupura area.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s intelligence agencies have conveyed to the government that the primary factor behind the mother of four illegally entering India was “love.”

(With PTI inputs)