Bangladeshi with Indian passport arrested after not singing national anthem

A Bangladesh national who allegedly got an Indian passport using forged documents was arrested after failing to sing the Indian national anthem on request at immigration, Indian media reported on Wednesday.

Anwar Hussein flew into the South Indian city of Coimbatore from the United Arab Emirates’ Sharjah on an Air Arabia flight, the Times of India reported.

Upon presenting his passport which had another Indian city, Kolkata, as primary residence, officials began questioning Hussein.

“He gave contradictory answers,” TOI reported citing a police official. He reportedly also produced a birth certificate, which is allegedly forged, and a national identity card called the ‘Aadhar card.’

At this point, when the officials asked him to sing the Indian National Anthem, Hussein confessed that he was in fact a Bangladeshi national from Payari village in the Maimensingh district. He was arrested on Monday.

An initial investigation revealed that the 28-year-old worked in Tiruppur in 2018 and obtained Aadhaar and birth certificate by forgery at the time.

In 2020, using these documents, he obtained a reportedly valid Indian passport and traveled to the UAE.

The authorities have charged Hussein under the Foreigners Act and is currently being held in judicial custody.