Pune : In a joint operation with the military intelligence unit of the Army's Southern Command, the city police on Friday arrested four Bangladeshi nationals and their seven family members, including three children, on charges of staying in India illegally. A case was registered in Hadapsar police station in this matter. The four people who have been arrested have been identified as Nizam Rahim Ali Shaikh Rathi (30), Babu Mosin Mandal Rathi (30), Kamrul Roshan Mandal Rathi (22) and Sagar Alam Shaikh Rathi (22). Those booked include Najma Babu Mandal Rathi (25), Mariam Kamru Mandal Rathi (35), Alam Shaikh Rathi (24) and Shaheenur Alam Shaikh Rathi (25), besides three children.
According to the police, the accused had obtained Aadhaar and PAN cards by submitting fake documents and were living in Devachi Urli area. Earlier on August 15, Hadapsar police had detained seven Bangladeshi nationals after getting information from central agencies. Although the suspects admitted to belonging to Bangladesh, the police failed to gather evidence of their origin due to which they were released. Subsequently, the military intelligence unit investigated and gathered strong evidence against some of these infiltrators. On this basis, four Bangladeshi infiltrators were arrested on Friday. A case was also registered against other members of his family who were living in the city illegally.
According to the police, the raid was conducted after receiving information that a person named Nizam Rahim Ali Shaikh had entered India without a permit and passport and was staying in Devachi Uruli. During interrogation, Sheikh admitted to being a Bangladeshi. He confessed that he had entered India illegally through the border from Bangladesh. Initially, they paid money to obtain PAN card, which was used to obtain Aadhaar card. Then he managed to obtain the voter identity card with the help of these documents.
It was also revealed that he transferred money to his family members in Bangladesh using his bank account. When his house was searched, officials found and confiscated various identity cards in his name, such as his PAN card, Aadhaar card, election card and customer card for Bharat Gas. The accused are originally from Jessore district of Bangladesh. It has been told that Babu Mosin Mandal, who lives here with his wife Najma and son, used to run a hotel in Adarsh Nagar. Kamrul Mandal was living here with his wife Maryam and two children. Sagar Sheikh lived in the city with his father Alam Sheikh and mother Shaheenur. The mobile phones of the accused have been confiscated for investigation.
Police sub-inspector Sushil Damre said, 'During the investigation we found the ID of an accused who is linked to Bangladesh. The accused claim that they have applied to get Indian citizenship, but their application has not been approved yet. We have started the process of document verification and investigation into the case. Appropriate action will be taken based on our findings. “The suspects were produced in court and are currently in three-day police custody.”
