Mumbai: The Kurla police on Wednesday night registered a case of cheating and forgery against Faraz Malik, son of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and former Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik, and his wife Hamleen. According to the police, Hamleen, who is a French national, had submitted forged documents while applying for extension of her visa.
“We have registered a case of cheating and forgery, and also under the Foreigners Act against Faraz Malik and his wife Hamleen. They had submitted bogus documents when Hamleen wanted to convert her tourist visa into an X 1 visa,” said deputy commissioner of police, Zone V, Manoj Patil.
An “X” visa is an entry visa granted to a foreigner, while “X-1” is granted if a person is of Indian origin, but does not possess an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card, according to the ministry of home affairs. The OCI card allows people of Indian origin and their spouses to live and work in India indefinitely.
The case was filed on the complaint of a special branch officer who said that the documents were submitted in 2020, which is when she apparently came to India. The scrutiny of the documents happened between March and June 2022, when the complainant, who was overseeing the process, noted the forged papers.
The officer then lodged the complaint against the two. The couple has forged multiple documents, including their marriage certificate, according to sources at Kurla police station.
No arrests have been made in the case as yet, but when required the couple will be summoned by the police, Mr Patil clarified. “The investigation will take its course. Several documents that they have submitted will be checked,” Mr Patil said.
An FIR has been lodged against the two under Sections 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 465 (forgery), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), and 34 (common intent) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 14 (penalty for contravention of provisions) of the Foreigners Act.
