Gujarat Police have detained a Syrian national in Khambhalia town of Devbhumi Dwarka district for allegedly remaining in India without a valid visa.
The detention happened on Monday amid security checks tightened across Gujarat following the recent blast in Delhi.
Police officials told media that 29-year-old man from Syria had overstayed his visa by nearly two years. Officers said he was in a same-sex relationship with a local resident from Khambhalia and chose to remain in India to stay with his partner. Both individuals have tested HIV positive, police added. “We are looking into whom they were in contact with,” an officer involved in the inquiry told media.
Investigators reported that the man, originally from Jableh on Syria’s Mediterranean coastline, was found carrying three Syrian passports but was unable to provide a valid visa. His student visa had expired on March 14, 2020, and an online extension was valid only until July 5, 2023.
Inspector K. K. Gohil of the Devbhumi Dwarka Local Crime Branch told a section of the media that the Syrian man had enrolled at a private university in Rajkot in 2018 through a Government of India scholarship and arrived the following year. He completed a degree in computer science.
Police said that after his visa lapsed, he attempted to enroll in a master’s program in Chittorgarh, Rajasthan, but was denied admission because his documents were incomplete. Instead of returning to Syria to regularize his papers, he shifted to Khambhalia.
Officers further said that the Syrian national told them he had met the Khambhalia resident through a dating app while studying in Rajkot, and their relationship gradually deepened.
The local man, who operates a school, eventually offered him accommodation, and the Syrian man assisted with clerical duties there. He also presented a UNHCR refugee card, which police are now examining.
Superintendent of Police Jayrajsinh Vala told a section of the media, “After his visa expired, he had nowhere to go. He had formed a relationship with the Khambhalia man through a social media platform. We are now reviewing his financial transactions and phone records to understand the circumstances of his illegal stay.”
During questioning, police sources said, the Syrian man expressed that he did not wish to return to his home country because same-sex relationships are not socially accepted there and he had found companionship in India.
Following joint questioning by multiple agencies, a case was registered under Sections 14(A) and 14(C) of the Foreigners Act. The 33-year-old Khambhalia resident has also been booked under the same provisions. The investigation continues.
Also Read: UK Immigration Authorities Arrest 12 Indian Nationals in Visa Breach https://www.vibesofindia.com/uk-immigration-authorities-arrest-12-indian-nationals-in-visa-breach/
