Asked to prove citizenship by Pune police, mob: Kargil veteran's family

PUNE: A Kargil war veteran's family in Pune has alleged they were forced to prove their Indian citizenship after a group of 30 to 40 men accompanied by police stormed their home late Saturday night.

The family of Hakimuddin Shaikh , a retired soldier who fought in the 1999 Kargil war, alleged Tuesday the men arrived at their home in eastern Pune's Chandan Nagar & demanded documents. By midnight, male family members were taken to the police station.

"We were told to wait until 3am and warned that if we failed to prove our citizenship, we would be declared Bangladeshi or Rohingya," a family member alleged.

DCP Somay Munde said police acted on information about suspected illegal immigrants. "Our team asked for documents. Once it was clear they were Indian, we let them go. The police team was not accompanied by any third party. We have video footage."

Hakimuddin, 58, served 16 years in the Army's 269 Engineer Regiment from 1984 to 2000. "I fought for this country in Kargil," he said. "My entire family belongs to this nation. Why are we being asked to prove it?"

The family, originally from Pratapgarh in UP, has lived in Pune since 1960. Though Hakimuddin returned to his hometown in 2013, his brothers, nephews, and their families remain in Pune.

Hakimuddin's brother Irshad Shaikh said: "A group of unknown men, shouting slogans and kicking doors, were demanding papers. A plainclothes officer tried to calm them. A police van waited down the road."

The family includes two other Army veterans - Shaikh Naeemuddin and Shaikh Mohammad Salim, who served in the 1965 and 1971 wars. "Is this how soldiers' families are treated?" Irshad asked. "What does being Indian mean if we have to prove it every time someone knocks at the door?"

The group allegedly refused to accept even valid documents. Even after showing Aadhaar cards, Hakimuddin's nephews Naushad and Nawab Shaikh said the group mocked the documents as fake. "They were acting like goons," Naushad alleged. "They kicked the door, shouted at the women, told them to wake up and show papers."

Another nephew Shamshad Shaikh alleged police summoned them again Sunday. "We waited over two hours before being told the inspector wasn't coming. Our documents are still with them."

Police commissioner Amitesh Kumar said that the case is being investigated. "If negligence is found, action will follow. Preliminary findings suggest police did not forcibly enter the house."

(With inputs from Gitesh Shelke)