Amidst the crackdown on illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya Muslims across the country, 50 Bangladeshi nationals living illegally in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, have been identified and arrested. Besides, the Gujarat Crime Branch is questioning over a hundred people to find the intruders. Earlier, illegal Bangladeshis were apprehended in Pune and Tripura.
Informing about the arrests of illegal Rohingya and Bangladeshi Muslims, DCP Ajit Rajiyan of the Crime Branch of Gujarat Police said: “We are continuously taking action against people living illegally. Along with this, more than 200 people are being questioned.” According to the report, all of them were involved in making fake Aadhar cards, prostitution and many other illegal activities.”
Pune Police of Maharashtra also apprehended 21 Bangladeshis on October 21, 2024, during a search operation in Rajangaon based on intelligence information. Speaking about what was recovered from the arrested accused, Superintendent of Police Pankaj Deshmukh stated, “Nine of them had bogus Aadhaar cards, PAN cards, and one had a voter ID card. The Bangladeshi citizen possessed a voter ID card that he had obtained in Gujarat.”
The SP stated that all of them either crossed the border on foot from West Bengal or arrived illegally by sea in boats. He continued, “Some of them have children between the ages of three and five. After entering India, they visited Gujarat and Mumbai. They reached Pune a few days ago.” He stated that an investigation is currently underway and that the outcome will be known in 2-3 days.
The names of those arrested by the police are – Ajmul Sharat Khan alias Hasif Khan (50), Mohammed Akbar Azeez Akbar Sardar (32), Shafikul Alimiya Sheikh (20), Hussain Mukhid Sheikh (30), Tarikul Atiyar Sheikh (38), Mohammed Omar Farooq Babu alias Babu Bukhtiar Sheikh (32), Shaheen Shahjan (44), Mohammed Hussain Sheikh (32), Rauf Akbar Dafadar (35), Ibrahim Kajol Sheikh (35).
The accused, Farid Abbas Sheikh (48), Mohammed Saddam Abdul Sakhawati (35), Mohammed Abdul Habib Rehman Sardar (32), Alimiya Tohkil Sheikh (60), Mohammed Israel Fakir (35), Feroza Mutaqeen Sheikh (20), Lipiya Hasmukh Mulla (32), Salma Malik Roshan Malik (23), Hina Mulla Zulfiqar Mulla (40), Sandeep alias Kajol Basudeep Vishesh (30) and Yenur Shahdata Mulla (25) have also been arrested.
“We are finding out for how long they have been in India. Preliminary investigation suggests that they have been in the country for 6 months to 10 years. We are finding out what is their purpose of staying in this country. Many of them are involved in labour activity and are doing wage labour. Therefore, it is too early to comment on their actual status,” SP Pankaj Deshmukh said.
“We have seized documents like voter ID cards, PAN cards and Aadhar cards from them. Apart from this, information about people living illegally has also been received from many people. We are also investigating this aspect whether there is any organized racket or agent who is bringing Bangladeshi citizens and establishing them in our country,” he added.
Similarly, on the morning of 22nd October 2024, security authorities seized three Rohingya Muslims and two Bangladeshi nationals at Agartala railway station in Tripura’s capital. Tapas Das, the officer-in-charge of the Government Railway Police (GRP), stated that they had information that several Rohingya and Bangladeshi nationals would arrive at Agartala railway station to leave Tripura.
Tapas Das went on to say that during interrogation, it was discovered that the Rohingya citizens were going to Hyderabad, while the Bangladeshi citizens were planning to go to Mumbai. He stated, “We seized Bangladeshi currency, documents, and some mobile phones from them.” We will put them in court and request police remand for additional investigation.”
Notably, a large gang of human traffickers operates on the Indo-Bangladesh border in West Bengal, allowing such persons to enter India from the Bangladesh border for a mere four thousand rupees. Following this, the infiltrators, including both Bangladeshis and Rohingya Muslims are given bogus identities and relocated to other parts of the country, including Jammu & Kashmir, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Delhi.
