An Iranian national was arrested by security forces in Bihar after he was caught to living in India for 11 years in the garb of a Buddhist monk without a visa. The person was arrested when he was attempting to cross over to Nepal without valid documents at the India-Nepal border in the East Champaran district in Bihar.
The man has been identified as 38 years old Hamed Akbari, and he is a resident of Rajakan area of the Iranian capital Tehran.
An Iranian passport and a UNHCR card were recovered from Akbari by the immigration officials at the border. According to officials, he had reached Raxaul onboard a Bharat Nepal Maitri bus service from Bodh Gaya. He was wearing robes of a Buddhist monk, and he was caught during a routine search of the bus on Saturday night at around 10 PM.
Akbari claimed to be a Buddhist monk, and said that he is living in India since 2008 and currently staying at Bodh Gaya. He refused to say more about himself, saying his Guru has ordered him to not talk about his past.
A K Pankaj, DSP immigration posted at Raxaul, said, “The manner in which he was staying in India since the last 11 years without any visa and had procured UNHRC Card and was giving statements clearly incongruent in nature, it only leads to suspicion of sorts.” The Iranian national was found violating section 14B of the Foreigners Act, 1946, and was handed over to local police at Raxaul for further action.
