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print versionIndian languishes in jail as Pakistani intruder
Saibal Gupta, TNN | Aug 2, 2015, 03.08 AM IST
KOLKATA: An Indian national has been languishing at Dum Dum Central Jail despite a release order issued in November 2013. A Bongaon court had convicted him on the ground that he, being a Pakistani national, intruded on India. Pakistan, on the other hand, refused to recognize him as its own citizen.
The family members of P Yousuf, the convict, have been running from the pillar to post since then. Yousuf has filed a writ petition in Calcutta high court praying for his release.
Yousuf, a resident of Panoor Gram Panchayat in Kerala’s Kannur district, was arrested from Bangaon on January 18, 2012 along with two other persons — Atiqur Rahman and P Mohammed — when they were allegedly trying to cross the border. He was produced before the additional chief judicial magistrate Moon Chakraborty and she sentenced him to prison for 650 days with charges under Section 420, 468 and 471 of IPC and 14 of Foreigners Act.
According to the release certificate issued by Dum Dum Central Correctional Home, the trio was released on November 16, 2013. Interestingly, when Atiqur and Mohammed were sent back to Pakistan, Yousuf had to stay back in Dum Dum correctional home because Pakistan refused to accept him as their citizen. The Indian government won’t release him because the court has directed them to deport him to Pakistan.
Documents with TOI, including residential certificate by the president of Panoor gram panchayat, show that he is a resident of Ponganoli village in Panoor gram panchayat area in Kerala’s Kannur district. His father’s name is Mohammad. He was married to Nabeesu and has a son named Noufal. He also has property in his name. Papers with TOI also show that he was a student of Thiruval U P School at Panoor.
"My father went missing in December 2011. We searched for him but didn’t find him. Then a person from Dum Dum Central Jail called me up in April or May 2013 and informed me that he was serving jail terms on charges of being a Pakistani. We were surprised. I came to Kolkata with my mother and met the jail authorities and produced all the documents to prove that he is an Indian. The authorities told us that they can’t do anything unless they have the court order. Even after his official release, we can’t take him back home because the court order says he will have to be deported back to Pakistan," said Yousuf’s son P Noufal.
"We appealed for repatriation of all the three prisoners and the Indian government had taken up the issue with the Pakistan government. The officials there admitted that both Atiqur Rahman and P Mohammed were Pakistani nationals and took them back. In case of Yousuf, the Pakistani government refused to recognize him as a Pakistani national and naturally he had to stay back in jail," said superintendent of the correctional home, Navin Saha.
Meanwhile, Noufal and his mother have filed a writ petition in Calcutta high court. "I got in touch with Nabeesu and his son Noufal. They have all the documents except the voters’ ID card. According to Indian Constitution, a voters’ ID card is not the only identity proof to prove Indian citizenship. At present the case is lying with the high court for hearing," Yousuf’s lawyer Habibur Rahman said.
Yousuf, a resident of Panoor Gram Panchayat in Kerala’s Kannur district, was arrested from Bangaon on January 18, 2012 along with two other persons — Atiqur Rahman and P Mohammed — when they were allegedly trying to cross the border.
