Mohammed Jaweed Azmath, 37, one of the two Indians convicted in the United States for credit card fraud and deported to India, arrived in Hyderabad on Friday, bringing cheers to his family.

The Hyderabad City police arrested him soon after his arrival at Begumpet airport on charges of furnishing false information to obtain an Indian passport. He was produced in the court of Second Metropolitan Magistrate, who granted him bail on two sureties of Rs10,000 each.

It was a tearful reunion for Azmath with his Pakistan-born wife Tasleem Murad, his son, father Mohammed Jehangir and younger brother Mohammed Akber.

He embraced his son, who was born in December 2001. Soon, relatives, neighbours, friends and journalists besieged his house in Shibligunj.

Tasleem said: "I thank Allah for answering my prayers. We are all happy. We all have been waiting for his return for several months.

"Azmath's return has given me a new lease of life. My travails are finally over. Now I can heave a sigh of relief."

Tasleem, who married Azmath in 2001, was facing deportation to Pakistan along with her son. After she challenged the deportation orders in the Andhra Pradesh high court, the authorities extended her visa till May 2003.

A day after the September 11 attacks, Azmath and Syed Gul Mohammed Shah were arrested on suspicion of having links with terrorists. They were later charged with fraud.

Azmath, who pleaded guilty, was sentenced to nine months in jail by a US District Court in Manhattan and ordered to pay $76,000 in restitution on September 18, 2002. He was shifted to the custody of the Immigration and Naturalisation Service in October and was deported three days ago. Shah returned to the city on the eve of new year.