Kollam:
Five members of a family from Pakistan were today taken into custody by police for visiting the Amritanandamayi Mutt near Kollam without permission to travel to Kerala.
Kishor Kumar (44), his wife Varsha (40) and their three daughters from Sindh province had arrived at the mutt yesterday though their visa allowed them to travel only upto Thane in Maharashtra, police said.
Kumar told police that he and his family were devotees of Mata Amritanandamayi, the head of the Ashram, known world over as "Amma" (mother).
They had come to the spiritual retreat at Vallikkavu near here alongwith Kumar's brother-in-law Sumeeth, a resident of Thane in Maharashtra.
It was the ashram authorities who informed the police of their presence. On scrutiny of their travel documents, police found that their visa did not allow them to travel beyond Maharashtra.
They were later taken to the City Police Commissioner's office in Kollam for questioning.
A case was registered under the Registration of Foreigners Act and Pakistan High Commission in India had been informed about the matter, police said.