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Indian Express
Sep 21, 2026, 12:26 PM
Fear Grips Jamshedpur's Afghan-Origin Community as Three Men Face Forgery Charges
For decades, Jamshedpur has had a small Afghan-origin population, living across various parts of the city. These days, it’s hard to find them. After three men with Afghan roots were booked, with one arrested and two “on the run”, during checks for the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) , fear is running through the community. In the Golmuri, Dhatkidih, Jugsalai and Mango areas where most of the Afghan-origin residents live, neighbours and acquaintances have distanced themselves, their businesses are shut, and even a mosque known to be frequented by the community stonewalls all queries. Asil Khan, 47, Mohammad Aslam, 41, and Mohammad Ibrahim, 44, who are facing charges of forgery of documents to get enrolled in the SIR, are related. While Ibrahim, who is under arrest, and Asil are brothers, Aslam is their cousin. All three are unmarried. Locals say the cousins made a living selling blankets, which is one of the most popular trades in the community. They also say that while Ibrahim and Asil’s father came from Afghanistan, their mother was an Indian Muslim. Incidentally, in January this year, three Afghan nationals living in Jamshedpur were detained by a joint team of the Jharkhand ATS and Delhi Police for questioning in connection with an investigation into alleged fake passports and other documents. The three, who were living with their families in rented accommodation in Golmuri, had their passports seized and were questioned. The ATS later said all had been released after interrogation, and that the investigation was continuing. ATS SP Raj Kumar Mehta told The Indian Express he had just taken charge and was not aware of the case details, but that if the accused had got bail, it may be because they had proper documents. The landlord from whom Ismail, Asil and Aslam had rented a room in Golmuri, Wasim (he does not want to share his last name), says he has known the family for decades and that they had been settled in the area for “25-26 years”, before which they lived in another part of the city. “As he was being taken away by police, Ibrahim pleaded that the family had been living in Jamshedpur for 60-70 years,” he says. Wasim adds: “Ibrahim also travelled outside India in the past for his work, though he had stopped doing that recently.” A man who is in his 50s says on the condition of anonymity that many of the Afghan families arrived even before Independence. “They travelled to different parts of India for business.” Apart from blankets, the community is involved in the trade of dry fruits and other goods such as clothes, he says, with the more well-off among them becoming moneylenders. The last trade is on the decline now, he adds. At least one family, settled in Jugsalai, is known across Jamshedpur for their traditional healing practice. The head of the family known just as “Khan Baba”, like his father before him, says the family has been helping people for more than 65-70 years. “My father used to do this work, and after him, it passed on to me,” says “Khan Baba”, who is in his early 40s. He adds that the family came during the British era, settling first in Karnataka, and that, for the past three generations, everyone has been born in India. A 29-year-old man, who lives in Dhatkidih and runs a real estate office, says: “My great-grandfather served in the Indian Army under the British. For his services, the family received a house at Danapur in Patna. My grandfather worked in Tata Steel .” The 29-year-old adds that they have multiple identity proof documents issued by the government. “We also travel to Afghanistan, with some members of the extended family still living there.” Qamar Sultana, who runs a small shop selling daily-use items in Dhatkidih, says he personally knew Afghan families who had been living in the area for years, including a dozen of them who once shared a building. He doesn’t know where they live now, Sultana says. “But they never hid their identity from anyone, nor did we ever hear of any illegal activities by them.” Sources said no other member of the community is known to be facing issues due to the SIR. Ibrahim, Asil and Aslam had applied for SIR enrolment, and after they received notices, submitted documents to prove identity and residence. It is while checking these, particularly their passports, officials said, that they suspected the veracity of the documents. A Lalitha, the Block Level Officer (BLO) of Golmuri, says the three were sent notices as they were not able to map themselves to the electoral roll prepared after the last intensive revision in 2003. “I came to know that the three were Afghan nationals only after the documents were checked,” Lalitha says. In East Singhbhum district, of which Jamshedpur is a part, the total number of electors before the SIR was around 19 lakh. Of these, around 3.98 lakh were deleted at the draft stage. The draft roll has 15.11 lakh voters, with notices served to around 4.5 lakh people. Dhalbhum Sub-Divisional Officer Arnav Mishra, who is also the Electoral Registration Officer, says the cousins submitted photocopies of their passports to the BLO; it’s not clear how they acquired the passports. “The passports passed the first level of scrutiny, and were sent for a second-level verification. This check showed that Ibrahim’s passport had been suspended earlier, for potentially him being an Afghan national, and that the process to cancel that of the other two was underway on the same grounds,” the ERO says. A team led by Mishra investigated the matter, questioned Ibrahim and submitted its report to the district administration. The report was subsequently sent to the Chief Electoral Officer’s office in Ranchi, following which the district administration was directed to register an FIR against the cousins at Golmuri Police Station. Mishra admits that checks showed the three had been living at the same address for around 26 years. “The BLO has told us that information related to them being settled here dates back to at least 2005.” However, they never officially took Indian citizenship, he points out. Under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, while the process of citizenship for refugees from Afghanistan – including other neighbours – has been made easier, the provision does not cover Muslims. The Investigating Officer in the case, Gaurav Singh, says the same, telling the Indian Express that the documents submitted by the three men were made many years ago. “The only problem seems here is that they don’t have Indian citizenship. Living and working anywhere is not a crime. However, they don’t have the right to vote.”
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