Bihar man detained,questioned twice at IGI

A senior immigration official said,“We had information about a man with the name of Atta-ur Rahman,so he was stopped and questioned. But we did not find anything against him and he was let off.”

Rahman called the experience a major harassment. Speaking to The Indian Express over the phone from Patna,he said he was asked questions like “What kind of weapons you have learned to use?” and “How many times you have visited Pakistan?”.

“I was shocked when they asked me if I had gone through weapons training. I was questioned for almost 11 hours on May 27 and again on June 11 for almost six hours. I have not received a clearance yet and I have to go to Doha.” Rahman,who lives in Sitamarhi in Bihar,is the son of a Bihar policeman— his father Annu Sipahi is posted as a constable in Purnea.

A painter and electrician by profession,Rahman reached the IGI Airport on May 27 to board an Emirates flight. The officials at the immigration clearance desk stopped him and took him to a room. Special Cell officers of the Delhi Police reportedly joined the questioning.

“They questioned me about whether I had gone through any weapons training,how many times I have been to Pakistan,where I belong to and for whom I work. I told them that I am the son of a Bihar police officer,I am an electrician and have nothing to do with anything they were questioning me on.” He also said the officials told him they had received an email about his alleged connection with terror activities.

Sources,meanwhile,said they were looking for a person named Atta-ur-Rehman who is involved in terrorist activities.

A few days later,Rahman booked a seat on a Jet Airways flight to Doha on June 11.

This time too,he was stopped and questioned by the immigration and Special Cell officers. “The first time I thought they had made a mistake,but they took me for questioning the second time as well. Though they let me off the second time as well,I now fear whether I would be allowed to go at all,” Rahman said.

Special Cell officers,meanwhile,refused to comment when asked about the incident.

Rahman said he had stayed and worked in Saudi Arabia for four years earlier. He got married two years ago and has a child.

After the interrogation on June 11,Rahman was asked to contact the Foreigner Regional Registration Office (FRRO) in Delhi. Rahman is now waiting for a clearance from the authorities to fly to Doha.