On 22nd June, it was reported that a Bangladeshi national identified as Minar Hemayat was arrested by Surat SOG in Gujarat. Hemayat was living under a forged Hindu identity. Notably, multiple Bangladeshis have been apprehended recently in India by Maharashtra ATS revealing some of them even voted in the recent Lok Sabha elections using forged documents. The arrest has highlighted the growing concern over illegal Bangladeshis living under false identities in various parts of India.
Minar Hemayat is a Bangladeshi Muslim. He was arrested in the Una area of Surat. Police recovered multiple forged documents under the Hindu identity of Shuvo Sunil Das. Several Bangladeshi documents including birth certificates, school admission and leaving certificates, Bangladeshi national ID cards, and other documents were also recovered from the accused. The Indian documents included a school leaving certificate from West Bengal, an Aadhar card, a residency permit card for Qatar, an Indian passport, and a house rent agreement.
સુરતમાં હિન્દુ નામ ધારણ કરીને ફરતો બાંગ્લાદેશી નાગરીક પકડાયો; બનાવ્યા હતા નકલી આધારકાર્ડ, પાસપોર્ટ#Surat #Gujarat #News #Bangladesh pic.twitter.com/XXqjB8ipY8
— Zee 24 Kalak (@Zee24Kalak) June 22, 2024
Reports suggest that Hemayat came to India from Bangladesh via the Satkhira border in West Bengal in 2020. He got access to the forged documents under a Hindu identity in the Nadia district of West Bengal ruled by Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress party. Using the forged documents, he obtained an Indian passport and worked in Doha, Qatar from 2021 to 2023. He then moved to Surat to work in construction.
Earlier, four Bangladeshi nationals were apprehended in Mumbai by Maharashtra police and ATS. They created fake documents and used them to get fake voter ID cards. They voted in the Lok Sabha elections as well. Investigations revealed that these Bangladeshi nationals got their fake passports from Gujarat and used them to secure jobs abroad. Some of the individuals travelled to Saudi Arabia using forged Indian documents. The recovery of fake documents highlighted the broader issue of illegal immigration and forging fake identities within India.
The arrests and initiation of multiple investigations in different states have highlighted there is need for stronger measures to curb illegal immigration and document forgery. Such incidents pose a high risk to national security and have the potential to harm the integrity of legal and electoral systems.
