The fact that Bangladeshis are residing illegally in Maharashtra has come to the fore numerous times. On 2nd July, the Regional Passport Office in Pune invalidated up to 42 Indian passports that were reportedly obtained by Bangladeshis by submitting fake documents, according to the information obtained from the Pimpri Chinchwad authorities.
According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Shivaji Pawar, information on 42 passports was discovered while looking into the five Bangladeshis who were taken into custody in January of this year from the Nigdi area. The infiltrators were identified as Rocky Barua alias Debit Roy (31), Amiron Barua (28), Ankur Barua (28), Ratul Barua (28) and Rana Barua (25), all natives of Chittagong in Bangladesh.
According to the police, the Bangladeshis entered India illegally and were found living in Sainath Nagar, Nigdi. They intended to use their Indian passports to travel overseas for business. Three of the Indian passports that were taken from the suspects were issued in Goa, per a probe conducted by the investigating officer, assistant police inspector AS Deshmukh. A police report was filed on the matter at the Nigdi police station, under sections of the Passport Act and the Foreigners Act by 31-year-old Suyog Arun Lande of the Pimpri Chinchwad police’s anti-terrorist cell.
An inquiry found that multiple Bangladeshis were assisted in obtaining Indian passports by Sainath Yeilwad, a local agent in Pune’s Chandan Nagar, Rocky also known as Debit Roy, and Jiku Das alias Joy Chowdhary who is also a Bangladeshi but was staying illegally in Pune and Goa. While Jiku and Sainath are still on the run, Debit Roy disclosed information about many Indian passports that have been acquired by Bangladeshis who had entered India illegally.
According to the police, illegal immigrants from Bangladesh first secured PAN cards and Aadhaar cards, which they then used to gain Indian passports with the aid of agents in Pune and Goa. 42 Indian passports that Bangladeshis received after entering India illegally were reported to the passport office by DCP Sandeep Doifode of the special section of the Pimpri Chinchwad police. DCP Shivaji Pawar issued a press release stating that the Passport Office then carried out verification and revoked all 42 passports following the instructions on 2nd July.
According to authorities, Sainath, the fugitive accused, was also charged in a related case that was brought to the Mumbai police station in Borivali. A Borivali police team apprehended twenty Bangladeshi infiltrators and two Indians in the scheme to fabricate passports, Aadhaar cards, Pan cards, and other documents for the infiltrators. A Mumbai court found all 20 of the Bangladeshi infiltrators guilty and convicted them in May of this year.
