Kathmandu (Nepal): Seema Haider, the Pakistani woman who illegally crossed the border and entered India via Nepal stayed with her Indian partner, Sachin Meena at a hotel in Nepal for almost a week. The couple stayed in a Hotel in the month of March this year and booked the room under fake names, the owner of the hotel confirmed news agency ANI.
In an exclusive interaction with the agency at Kathmandu, the hotel owner- Ganesh Roka Magar revealed that the couple stayed in the room most of the time during their stay. “They came to my hotel in March (2023) and stayed for seven-eight days and then checked out of the hotel,” the owner of New Vinayak Rolpa Jaljala Rukmeli Guest House said.
According to the hotel owner, the couple registered at the hotel under a fake name and stayed inside their room for the whole time. “Most of the time they used to stay in the room... They used to go out of the Hotel in the morning and evening but they would return within a very short time because our hotel is usually closed after 9:30-10 pm daily and they used to come two hours early... They mostly use to have fruits brought from outside and here in the hotel they only ordered Nepali Veg Thali and didn’t go out that frequently,” Roka Magar recalled.
“At first Sachin came here (at the hotel) booked the room and said that his wife is enroute and Seema came the following day and then they stayed for about 7 days. While checking out the hotel, it was Seema who checked out first and then Sachin left on the following day...Only the two had come, they didn't have the children with them...,” Roka Magar the agency. The hotel owner while showing the entry logbook to ANI said, “When I saw in the news then I realised that they’re Sachin and Seema as they made their entry under the name 'Shivansh' .”
"They had made the payment in cash in Indian currency notes," he added. Seema Haider had crossed over to India to live with Sachin Meena whom she befriended via an online game. The couple started living together in Greater Noida. However, Haider was arrested on July 4 for illegally entering India without a visa, while Meena was put behind bars for sheltering the illegal immigrants. The Indian officials are investigating who assisted her in arriving in India from Pakistan.
On the other hand, the Uttar Pradesh Police on Wednesday said it would not be appropriate to say if Pakistani citizen Seema Haider, who entered India illegally in May and is staying with her partner in Noida, is a spy "unless we have enough proof".
Seema and her Indian partner Sachin Meena were questioned by the Uttar Pradesh Police's Anti-Terrorist Squad on Monday and Tuesday. They were first arrested by the local police in Greater Noida on July 4 but were granted bail by a court on July 7. When asked if Seema could be a Pakistan spy, Uttar Pradesh Special Director General of Police Prashant Kumar said nothing could be said so early. "The matter is related to two countries. Till we have enough proof, it would not be appropriate to say anything in this regard," he said.
In her media interactions since her bail, Seema has been saying she entered India though the Nepal border and travelled to Noida in a bus to be with Sachin whom she met online. Asked whether the entry of a Pakistani citizen in India through the Nepal border was a security lapse, Kumar said, "This is not so. Our border (with Nepal) is porus. No passport is needed there. Nothing is written on anyone's face." Kumar also said no team is being sent to Nepal to probe how she entered India.
But the senior officer evaded a direct reply when asked if Seema could be deported. "The law is there in this regard and it will be followed. Action is being taken as per the legal mandate." On the ATS questioning of Seema and Sachin, the officer said, "All agencies are doing their work." he couple, who claims to have gotten married in Nepal earlier this year, had first got in touch in 2019 over online game PUBG.
Meanwhile, the Central Intelligence Agencies have sought a report from Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and Uttar Pradesh Police on Seema Haider who travelled through Nepal to reach Noida from Pakistan’s Karachi. A senior official confirmed that the agencies got alerted about Seema Haider, who illegally crossed into India to marry and live with her Indian partner, they asked detailed report from SSB and UP Police.
The Uttar Pradesh DGP office issued a brief note - "...Two video cassettes, four mobile phones, five Pakistan-authorised passports, one unused passport with incomplete name and address & ID card recovered from Seema Haider. Investigation of the same is underway. She, along with her four children, entered India illegally and District Police is carrying out an investigation in this regard."
"Intelligence agencies have asked a report from SSB and UP Police to find out how she managed to cross over without being verified by police personnel at the border. We have also demanded a report from UP Police as she entered to India via UP border and stayed with her partner for many days," the official said. The official further added that they are verifying the claims about her journey she made in TV interviews and they are also finding out who assisted her in arriving in India from Pakistan. (With Agency Inputs)
