‘BNP’ man held in Kolkata with fake passport, Aadhaar
Times of India | 30 November 2024
Kolkata: An alleged Bangladeshi citizen was arrested from a hotel located in the Park Street area on Friday night for allegedly entering Bengal illegally and residing here with a fake identity for the past two years. Cops have found strong political links of the accused (he is believed to be associated with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party) back in Bangladesh and are ascertaining if he helped other Bangladeshi nationals procure illegal documents to try and stay here.
The police have identified the arrested Bangladeshi citizen as Selim Mohammed alias Selim Matabbar. An Indian passport was seized from him, along with the photocopy of an Aadhaar card. The Aadhaar card bears the name Ravi Sharma, and the passport lists Rajasthan as his place of birth, along with another address in Delhi. The police are investigating whether the Indian passport is forged or was obtained under a false name.
According to police sources, Selim had illegally crossed the border from Bangladesh about two years ago. He then assumed a false identity to obtain an Indian passport and took a job in a hotel on Park Street.
A police source revealed that during interrogation, Selim stated that his home was in Madaripur, Bangladesh and that he was actively involved with a political party there. Due to political unrest, he was forced to leave his home and illegally crossed the border. With the help of a broker, he reportedly was asked to hide there for some time and managed to obtain an Indian passport using false information before moving to Kolkata.
"There is suspicion that he may have connections to an international crime syndicate. Investigations are also being conducted at the addresses in Rajasthan and Delhi mentioned in the passport," said a senior officer from the South police division. On Saturday, the cops presented the accused before a local court and requested his police custody for further investigation. The cops are likely to take the accused to Nadia to trace the roots of the crime.