india

Updated: Oct 16, 2015 19:26 IST

Five members of a Pakistani family who arrived in Mumbai to pray at the Haji Ali ‘dargah’ had to spend the night on a pavement after they were denied accommodation by several hotels.

The Pakistani nationals, who reached the city on Wednesday from Jodhpur, were turned away because hotels did not want to take the trouble of submitting mandatory forms for foreign guests, police said.

“The only reason for refusal by lodges and hotels was that they (hotels) didn’t want to complete the formality of filling ‘Form-C’, which is to be submitted to a government department if people from outside the country come to the city on visa and stay in their lodges and hotels,” said RPF sub-inspector Mahesh Chauhan.

He said the family members were told by owners at the lodges that they did not have the manpower to fill and submit such forms.

Chauhan found the family on Thursday morning, took them to a cabin at the Mumbai Central police station and told them to rest for some time, besides offering them tea and snacks.

The family members told Chauhan that they had arrived in the city to visit the dargah to pray for their 12-year-old son who was mentally challenged.

They visited the dargah on Thursday and later left for Jodhpur via Loksatti Express (from Bandra Terminus) by cancelling their initial return tickets for October 18.