Seven Bangladeshi Nationals Held In Maharashtra For Illegal Stay

Seven Bangladeshi nationals, including six women, were taken into custody in Thane district, Maharashtra, for allegedly residing in India without legal documentation, according to officials on Friday. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone III), Atul Zende, stated that the arrests were made by the Kalyan police on September 9, PTI reported.

According to Zende, a police patrol team came across six women near Kalyan railway station around 6 p.m. that day. The women were found carrying Bangladeshi identity documents and birth certificates but were unable to provide any valid Indian documents to justify their presence in the country.

The following day, police apprehended a man displaying similar suspicious behavior. He was identified as a Bangladeshi citizen who lacked proper travel or immigration documents, an official confirmed.

“During interrogation, they confessed to having entered India illegally by crossing the border and later boarding a train to Mumbai,” Zende added.

The group has been booked under the Indian Passport Act along with other applicable laws. Authorities are currently investigating whether there is any connection between the individuals and a possible human trafficking operation, the official said.

Several people have recently been picked up across the country on doubts over their nationality. A police-led drive to identify illegal immigrants was recently conducted in Gurugram, leading to the detention and document verification of several people, many of whom are Bengali-speaking workers. Several migrant families, particularly from West Bengal and Assam, say they are living in fear amid what they claim is selective targeting, reported PTI.

The identification and round up of the alleged Bangladeshi immigrants intensified after the Pahalgam attack.