A Rohingya Muslim youth from Myanmar was arrested on Tuesday on charges of cheating and forgery. The youth obtained various fake Indian identity cards to get issued a passport. He wanted to go to Dubai based on the Indian passport.
Mohammad Ismail, 20, a native of Ikyapu state in Myanmar, had obtained Aadhaar card, Voter Identity Card and Permanent Account Number while residing in Karnataka.
Police said that he was residing in Pahadishareef area in Hyderabad since June last year. He told police he had come to India via Bangladesh in 2014.
Ismail also possessed a birth certificate issued by Dum Dum municipality in Kolkata. He stayed in Delhi for a year before shifting to Belgaum in Karnataka.
He was booked for cheating and forgery under the Indian Penal Code and the Foreigners Act.
Rachakonda Police Commissionerate officials said the accused was helped by a local in Belgaum in obtaining different Indian identity cards.
In Hyderabad, his landlord Abdul Rasheed was helping him in changing addresses on identity cards and applying for an Indian passport, police said.
There are 16,000 Rohingyas in India who are registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, though their actual number is an estimated 40,000.
About 4,000 Rohingyas live In Hyderabad and possess refugee cards.