A Pakistani national, Nadir Karim Khan has been awaiting deportation to his country from India for the past four years, hoping to reunite with his family whom he last saw in 2021, The Indian Express reported.

“I can’t sleep; I keep thinking about home,” the news outlet quoted him as saying as he sat alone and gazed at the chaotic traffic outside.

At the busy Mata Ramabai Ambedkar Marg Police Station near Mumbai’s Crawford Market, Khan in a pahadi topi (cap worn by mountainous people) and pathani kurta (tunic) is a common sight.

Sometimes he walks around or is asked to serve tea to officers and visitors. At night, he sleeps in an empty office space in the station but struggles to rest.

Khan, a cloth merchant, told the police that in November 2021, he went on a business trip to Kathmandu. There, he claimed he was cheated by local vendors who ordered more than 3,000 leather jackets but failed to pay for goods worth over Rs25 million.

“They gave him a cheque, but it bounced. Despite his repeated follow-ups with the police and other authorities, nothing moved. So he stayed there for around 22 months,” said a police officer at the MRA Marg station.

Khan claimed that while he was following up on his complaint with the Nepal police, he was assaulted by the vendors in September 2023, who stole his passport and other documents. “By that time, the Nepal authorities had fined him about $1,000 for overstaying.”

Without any documents or money to pay the fine, Khan claimed that he crossed into India through the Sonauli port in Uttar Pradesh. From Sonauli, he took a train to Gorakhpur and then to New Delhi, where he went to the Pakistan High Commission but said “he was not heard.” After that, he travelled to Mumbai.

On November 1, 2023, Khan arrived at the Dadar Railway Station and took a taxi to the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 1) office near CST station.

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In the following months, he was detained at the MRA Marg Police Station and questioned by various authorities, including the Intelligence Bureau and RA&W.

On April 11, 2024, he was arrested for illegal entry into India under the Foreigners Act and the Passport Act. A chargesheet was filed against him, and on October 8, 2024, the Esplanade Court sentenced him to six months in prison. The magistrate also ordered his deportation.

Khan was released from Arthur Road Jail on October 11, 2024, the report said. As authorities decided where to place him, the police transferred him back to the MRA Marg Police Station and issued a “restriction order,” preventing him from leaving the station until his deportation, citing concerns that he might become untraceable or engage in illegal activities in India.