Russian woman jailed for trying to enter Diplomatic Enclave

ISLAMABAD: A Russian woman, who was arrested by the capital police for trying to enter the heavily-guarded Diplomatic Enclave, was sent to jail on judicial remand on Friday.

Station House Officer (SHO) of Secretariat police station Qurban Ali told Dawn that the woman was produced in court which sent her to jail on judicial remand. He said earlier police in Multan had arrested the woman when she was found roaming around the city and entering restricted areas.

“She was taken into custody over security reasons and later brought to Islamabad by the Multan police on Jan 4,” the SHO added.

The Multan police took her to the Russian embassy but she refused to stay there, the SHO said, adding that later she was shifted to local hotel.

Replying to a question about the registration of a case against her for wearing the uniform of the capital police and trying to enter Diplomatic Enclave, the SHO said the matter was being investigated and did not elaborate.

However, senior police officers told Dawn on condition of anonymity that the woman had landed at Multan airport from Russia on Dec 30 on a 15-day visit visa. She stayed in a hotel without registering herself with the police, they added.

Somehow, the Multan police came to know about her arrival and visited the hotel for inquiry, the officers said, adding that she failed to satisfy the police and later told them that she had arrived in the city in search of her Facebook friend, which she identified as Abdullah.

When the police traced the man, he denied having any link with the Russian woman. In response, the police again visited the woman and informed her about the man’s response.

She then tried to jump from her room’s balcony, however, she was overpowered and taken into custody, the officers said.

The Multan police informed the Russian embassy and on its request brought the woman to Islamabad on Jan 4. However, she refused to stay in the embassy or with the diplomats and was later shifted to a local hotel. Later, she was taken to the Secretariat police station and handed over by the Multan police.

Inside the Secretariat police station, she went to the bathroom where she found the police uniform. After donning the uniform, she walked out of the police station without being checked and reached her hotel.

The following day, while wearing the police uniform, she moved to the Diplomatic Enclave in the hotel’s car and tried to enter the premises. However, she was intercepted at Gate No. 1, the officers said.

She was again handed over to the Secretariat police who shifted her to the woman police station and a case was registered against her.

The officers said the Foreign Office and the Russian embassy were informed about registration of the case against the woman and her detention in Adiala jail. She is likely to be deported next week, they added. The senior officers also sought explanation from officials over her escaping from the Secretariat police station in police uniform.

Meanwhile, a police spokesman, in a statement, said the Russian woman had arrived in Multan on Thursday and the Multan police handed her over to the first secretary of the Russian embassy.

The embassy accommodated the woman and wrote to the Foreign Office to revoke her visa, he added.

The first information report (FIR) stated that the woman, wearing police uniform, reached Gate No. 1 of the Diplomatic Enclave, carrying two bags. Over suspicion, she was intercepted and on inquiry she introduced herself as Christiana but failed to give a satisfactory reply about the police uniform she was wearing.

She put up resistance when the police stopped her from entering the Diplomatic Enclave, the FIR said, adding that she was impersonating herself as an official of the capital police and failed to furnish any permit for entering the high security area.

Published in Dawn, January 8th, 2022

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