In a serious case of security lapse, an Iranian national, who was deported out of country from Pune in March 2014, was detained at Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport in the wee hours of Thursday.
Farzad Jafari Oulia, who is a disk jockey by profession and goes by his stage name ‘DJ Farzad’, managed to slip through the security net and enter India despite a look-out circular (LOC) issued against him following his deportation from the city last year.
After some intense grilling, Oulia was later reportedly allowed by authorities in Bengaluru to leave the country for Antalya in Turkey, where he was heading, sources said.
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Earlier, Bengaluru immigration office immediately informed the Foreigners’ Registration Office (FRO) in Pune once Oulia was detained. Sources said that on being questioned, he produced a visa document permitting him to stay in the country between August 22 and 28 this year.
“The LOC is meant to deter that particular foreign national from entering the country. After one is issued, the person is barred from entering that country for a period of 10 years,” said Sanjay Patil, Deputy Commissioner of Police (FRO).
According to FRO sources, there is a possibility that Oulia may have managed to slip through biometric checks as the LOC, once issued, becomes active only after a 15-day period. It is this period that Oulia may have taken advantage of to enter the country.
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Investigating agencies are probing the possibility whether Oulia was helped by someone within the country, whether someone in the police, the government or any private person.
According to the police, Oulia had first come to India on a student visa in October 2012 which expired the following year after which he had taken admission to an MBA course at a local college in the city.
Instead of completing his studies, Oulia regularly performed as a DJ at parties and nightclubs in the city and in Goa. He then drew the attention of the Pune police after he overstayed even when his visa had expired, following which he was subsequently deported to Iran in March last year and blacklisted.
Pune, a magnet for foreign nationals, has seen a surge in the number of deportations and LOC notices with the police revealing that there were around 200 such cases this year alone.