On February 13, Uttar Pradesh Police arrested Bano Begum, a Pakistani national who had forged documents and became an interim head of Gadau village panchayat in Jalesar police station area of Etah district. The Jalesar police received a tip-off about her location and arrested her from near her house. On January 1, 2021, an FIR was registered against her. Since then, she was absconding.
Villagers had complained about her nationality
UP Police had registered a case against her based on the complaints lodged by villagers who claimed that despite being a Pakistani national, Bano had contested elections of village Panchayat in 2015 and won the same. After the death of the panchayat head Shahnaz Begum, she became interim panchayat head.
SSP Sunil Kumar Singh said that during the investigation they found that Bano Begum married Akhtar Ali in Etah on June 8, 1980. Since then, she had been staying in India and got her long term visa extended multiple times.
Bano had procured forged documents
A local named Quwaidan Khan brought the issue of her nationality to the notice of the District Panchayati Raj Officer (DPRO) Alok Priyadarshi last year. After that, Bano resigned from her post, but Priyadarshi raised the matter before the Etah District Magistrate Sukhlal Bharti and an investigation were ordered. The police found that she had procured fake voter ID card and Aadhar card. An investigation was initiated against those who helped her in procuring the forged documents.