Syrian man held in Gujarat for not having valid visa

Dwarka (Gujarat), Nov 19 (PTI) Police have arrested a Syrian man for not having a valid visa in Gujarat's Devbhumi Dwarka district, officials said on Wednesday.

The man's local partner too was arrested.

Amid intensified checks following the blast near the Red Fort in Delhi, Dwarka Police received a tip-off about a suspicious English-speaking foreign national staying at a school in Dharampur village near Khambhalia, said an official release.

Subsequently, police detained a 29-year-old man hailing from Jableh, Syria, and his 33-year-old partner and local resident earlier this week. They were put under arrest after questioning.

The Syrian national was working at the school which was operated by the other accused, the police said.

Police confiscated three Syrian passports and an expired student visa issued for studies at Rajkot's Marwadi Education Foundation from the Syrian national.

The visa had been last renewed online until July 5, 2023, the release said.

Currently he had no valid visa, and presented a UNHCR refugee card which raised further suspicion, it added. During questioning, he revealed that he arrived in India in 2019 on a student visa, completed the studies in 2023, and later moved to Chittorgarh for higher education but failed to secure admission due to a lack of a valid visa.

But instead of returning to Syria, he shifted to Khambhalia to stay with his Indian partner.

A case was registered against the duo under the Foreigners Act and further probe was on, the police said. PTI KVM PD KRK