New Delhi, Feb 25 (IANS) The Versova police in Mumbai, Maharashtra, have carried out a major operation against Bangladeshi nationals residing illegally in India, arresting 25 individuals from the Andheri West Yari Road area.
Among those detained, 21 were transgender persons, two were women, and two were men. The authorities have initiated the process to deport all arrested individuals back to Bangladesh.
According to police officials, these Bangladeshi nationals had entered India illegally several years ago, initially entering through Kolkata and then travelling via Delhi and Gujarat to Mumbai.
Once settled in the city, they allegedly created multiple fraudulent Indian identity documents. During the operation, the Versova police recovered a large number of both Indian and Bangladeshi documents from the arrested individuals, which are now being scrutinised as part of the investigation.
The action was carried out following intelligence received by the Versova police Anti-Terrorism Cell (ATC), which indicated that the group would gather at a local dargah in the Yari Road area. Acting on this information, the ATC team conducted a raid and took the 25 Bangladeshi nationals into custody. Authorities are continuing investigations to determine the extent of the network, including those who may have facilitated their entry and residence in India.
This crackdown follows an earlier incident on February 18, when police in North Bengal arrested a man suspected to be a Bangladeshi national for allegedly residing in India for several years using forged identity documents.
The arrested individual, identified as Omar Farooq Byapari, had been living in the Chowdhuryhat Gram Panchayat area under Dinhata-II block in Cooch Behar district. He is accused of fraudulently obtaining multiple identity documents, including an Aadhaar card and a voter ID, by falsely presenting an Indian citizen as his father in official records. Police sources confirmed that Byapari had managed to establish these credentials by misrepresenting personal information on official forms.
The Versova police said that the current operation is part of ongoing efforts to detect and prevent illegal immigration and identity fraud in the city. All 25 arrested Bangladeshi nationals are expected to be deported soon, while further investigations continue to identify others involved in this network.
–IANS
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