A 31-year-old Nigerian DJ who went by the professional name of ‘Echo Buzz’ was Thursday arrested for allegedly overstaying in India, police said.
Police said on Friday that Ognuremi Abayomi Babatunde, who had come to India on a student visa a few years ago, was apprehended by a joint team of officials from the Pune City Police, Military Intelligence (MI), Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), and central intelligence agencies.
An investigation is underway to find out whether Babatunde was involved in illegal activities in the city.
According to police, the Nigerian national had come to Pune to study at Fergusson College, and formed an event management and entertainment service by the name of ‘Allure Entertainment’ in 2018 to organise musical events in city clubs.
The DJ stayed at a housing complex in Kondhwa’s Yewalewadi, and has been overstaying in the country since 2014, police said.
Based on intelligence inputs, the joint team of officials laid a trap and nabbed him from near ABC Road in Mundhwa, they said.
A case has been registered against the accused under relevant sections of the Indian Passport Act at the Kondhwa police station, said senior police inspector Ajit Lakade.
“The accused had come to India on a student visa and has been overstaying here since 2014. Top officials, including Commissioner of Police Amitabh Gupta, Joint Commissioner Sandip Karnik, Additional Commissioner Namdev Chavan, and Deputy Commissioner of Police Namrata Patil were involved in the investigation. We arrested the Nigerian national Thursday night. He was produced before a Pune court Friday, which remanded him to police custody for three days. Further investigation is underway,” said Lakade.
According to sources, he actively took part in high-profile musical night events in Pune under his stage name of ‘Echo Buzz’.
