Chikkaballapura: A Pakistani woman and her son have been arrested in Bagepalli taluk of Chikkaballapura district for allegedly staying in India illegally for nearly 22 years and attempting to secure Indian citizenship through forged documents.

The accused, Farhanaz (52) and Mohammed Fardeen (21), were living in Dasegaripalli village when they were taken into custody.

Officials said the case came to light after the family approached the Tahsildar’s office seeking a ration card and inclusion of their names in the electoral roll. During scrutiny of the documents, revenue officials found discrepancies, leading to a detailed verification.

Bagepalli Tahsildar Manisha N Patri said Mohammed Ayub Khan, a native of Dasegaripalli, had gone to Dubai for employment in 1993 and married Pakistani national Farhanaz there in 2003. Their eldest son, Mohammed Fardeen, was born in Pakistan, while the couple’s two other children were born in Dubai.

The family later settled in India but never acquired Indian citizenship. Despite this, they allegedly obtained Aadhaar cards and caste certificates in Bengaluru through fraudulent means.

Officials also found that their visas had expired and were not renewed after Operation Sindoor. Instead of returning to Pakistan, they allegedly continued residing in India and used a Bengaluru address to obtain bank accounts and other documents.

The Tahsildar said the administration had earlier received information that some foreign nationals without Indian citizenship were residing in Bagepalli. A field inquiry confirmed the presence of Pakistani passport holders, and verification established that they were not born in India.

Police have registered a case and arrested the mother and son. Authorities are now investigating the source of the forged documents and whether a larger network was involved in helping them obtain Indian identity documents and remain in the country illegally.