Dismissed trooper appeals for justice, says married Pak cousin after getting nod from CRPF

JAMMU : A day after being dismissed from service for allegedly concealing his marriage with a Pakistani woman, CRPF trooper Munir Ahmed on Sunday said he married his cousin nearly a month after getting permission from the force’s headquarters last year.

Addressing a press conference in Jammu, Ahmed, a resident of Jammu’s Gharotra area, said their marriage was arranged by their families, and he will challenge his dismissal in court.

He also appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and the CRPF to relook into his case, claiming that “he has completed all the formalities as per the rules and had done no wrong”.

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has dismissed Ahmed for “concealing” his marriage with Pakistani woman Minal Khan, saying his actions were detrimental to national security.

“My wife is the daughter of my maternal uncle, who migrated from Jammu to Pakistan during partition in 1947,” Ahmed, who joined CRPF in 2017, told reporters here, terming the social media reports claiming that they met online and fell in love as “false and fabricated.”

Displaying the documents and pictures to support his claim that he had informed the CRPF before entering into wedlock with Khan only after getting its nod, the Jammu’s Gharota area resident said, “After getting the nod from the headquarters, our families decided to go ahead with the marriage online without waiting for the visa after the condition of my father, a cancer patient, deteriorated. His treatment was also borne by the force.”

Talking to PTI over the phone from his house late Saturday evening, he said, “I initially came to know about my dismissal through media reports. Shortly after, I received a letter from the CRPF informing me about the dismissal, which came as a shock to me and my family as I had sought and received permission for my marriage to a Pakistani woman from the headquarters.”

Ahmed’s marriage with Khan came to light after India asked Pakistani nationals to leave the country as part of diplomatic measures taken in the wake of the Pahalgam terrorist attack in which 26 people were killed.

Khan entered India through the Wagah-Attari border on February 28, and her short-term visa ended on March 14. However, her deportation was stayed by the high court considering his application for a long-term visa (LTV), and she is presently staying in Ahmed’s Jammu residence.

“I made the first correspondence on December 31, 2022, informing my wish to marry the Pakistani national, and I was asked to complete formalities like enclosing copies of my passport, marriage card and affidavits and the proposed marriage destination.

“I submitted my affidavit and also the affidavits of my parents, sarpanch, and district development council member through proper channels and finally got a go-ahead from the headquarters on April 30, 2024,” he said.

The CRPF trooper said he applied for a No Objection Certificate (NOC), but he was told that such a provision is not available, and he has already completed the formalities by informing the government about his marriage to a foreign national in accordance with the rules.

“We got married online on May 24 last year through a video call. Subsequently, I submitted marriage pictures, ‘Nikkah’ papers and marriage certificate to my 72 Battalion, where I was posted.

“When she came for the first time on February 28 on a 15-day visa, we applied for Long-Term Visa in March itself and completed the necessary formalities, including interview,” he said, highlighting that this paved the way for the High Court of J&K and Ladakh to provide relief to them by staying his wife’s deportation at the last moment on Wednesday.

Ahmed said he returned to his duties at the end of his leave period and was asked to report to the battalion headquarters at Sunderbani on March 25, but on March 27, “I was handed over a transfer order and posted with 41st Battalion at Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) without providing 15 days mandatory joining period.

“I was given the order copy and relieved immediately, leaving me with no option but to join my duties in Bhopal, where I joined on March 29. I faced the interview of the commanding officer and his deputy on reaching there and also completed the documentation process, clearly mentioning my marriage to a Pakistani woman,” he said, adding he has even made the entry in his battalion data record book.

The CRPF trooper said he will be moving the court in the next few days to challenge his dismissal.

“I am hopeful of getting justice from the court of law,” he said, also paying rich tributes to the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives on April 22. — (PTI)