New Delhi:

A Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) constable, whose wife was about to be deported to Pakistan and got last-minute relief from the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, has now been sacked by the paramilitary force for concealing his marriage to a Pakistani national.

In a statement, the CRPF said Constable Munir Ahmed of the 41 Battalion has been dismissed from service “for concealing his marriage to a Pakistani national and knowingly harbouring her beyond the validity of her visa”.

“His actions were found to be in violation of service conduct and detrimental to national security,” the CRPF said.

Mr Ahmed has, however, claimed he got married nearly a month after getting permission from the force’s headquarters and will challenge his dismissal in court.

After the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam last week, in which 26 people were killed, India had revoked visas for most Pakistani nationals and asked them to leave the country within a specified period.

Mr Ahmed’s wife, Minal Khan, who is from Pakistan, had received deportation orders and had been sent to the Attari-Wagah border when she got relief from the high court. On April 29, the court allowed Ms Khan to stay in India for 10 days.

CRPF sources said Mr Ahmed, who is from Jammu and had joined the force in 2017, had written a letter and informed his department that he intended to marry a woman from Pakistan, but went ahead without waiting for official approval. The couple got married over video call on May 24 last year.

The sources said Ms Khan came to India on a tourist visa and began living with Mr Ahmed. Her visa expired on March 22, but she continued to stay with him.

Constable’s Defence

Speaking to news agency PTI, however, Mr Ahmed said he had got clearance from the CRPF on April 30 last year, almost a month before he got married.

Mr Ahmed said, “I initially came to know about my dismissal through media reports. I shortly received a letter from the CRPF informing me about the dismissal, which came as a shock to me and my family as I have sought and received permission for my marriage to a Pakistani woman from the headquarters.”

“I made the first correspondence on December 31, 2022, informing (the CRPF of) my wish to marry the Pakistani national and I was asked to complete formalities… and finally got a go-ahead from the headquarters on April 30, 2024,” he added.

The CRPF constable said he had also applied for a no-objection certificate (NOC) but was told he had already done what was needed.

“We got married online on May 24 last year through a video call. Subsequently, I submitted marriage pictures, ‘Nikah’ papers and marriage certificate to the 72 Battalion, where I was posted (at the time)… When she came for the first time on February 28 on a 15-day visa, we applied for a long-term visa in March itself and completed the necessary formalities, including the interview,” he said, adding that the High Court had given his wife relief based on this.

Mr Ahmed said he will be moving court in the next few days to challenge his dismissal. “I am hopeful of getting justice,” he said.

(With inputs from PTI)