The Azad Maidan Police have booked a British and a Canadian national for allegedly fraudulently marrying Indian women in order to procure Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) card, which grants them permanent residency. The police have also booked their 'spouses' along with an agent for helping them to procure the OCI. However, no arrest has been made so far. The said foreign nationals could be staying in the country illegally since 2018, said the police.
OCI is a form of permanent residency available to the people of Indian origin and their spouses, which allows them to live and work in India indefinitely.
According to the police, the Special Branch (SB1) of Mumbai police launched an investigation after a series of cases of illegal procurement of OCI cards surfaced recently. Like passport verification, the verification for OCI cards is also monitored by the SB1.
According to the officials, the two foreigners, identified as David Lincon (a British national) and Daniel Akler (a Canadian national) have been staying in the country since 2018 after procuring the OCI illegally. Their marriage certificates purportedly issued by the civic body were found to be forged after the SB1 officials checked the BMC records.
After the investigation, the police also booked their indian 'wives' identified as Jyoti Vishe and Shanti Naik.
On the complaint of the SB1 officials, the Azad Maidan Police, on Wednesday, registered an offence against the five persons under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. "We have registered an offence against the two foreign nationals, their 'spouses' and another person for allegedly helping them procure the marriage certificates. The investigation is underway," said Bhushan Belnekar, senior inspector of Azad Maidan police station.
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