Just over a month ago, three Bangladeshi nationals who had flown to Dubai from Hyderabad were deported to the Cochin International Airport. This was around a fortnight after the deportation of another Bangladeshi national who had flown out from Mumbai to Kuwait.
While the two deportations were unconnected, there was a common thread to both; they all travelled using Indian passports and had Indian documents—Aadhaar card, voter’s identity card, and Pan Card—none of them forged.
A hunt launched by the Crime Branch (CB) to trace the origin of the documents took it to Hyderabad from where it arrested one Somit Barua last week. He was instrumental in providing lodging to the three Bangladeshi nationals in Hyderabad and helping them secure passports in that address.
“While the documents in their possession are genuine, supporting documents like residential certificate, school leaving certificate, or ration card produced to secure them have either been forged or arranged by bribing local politicians or officials. Rackets adept in securing Indian documents in this manner are active in Hyderabad, Delhi, and Kolkata,” police sources told The Hindu.
Bangladeshi nationals crossing over to Kolkata secure supporting documents with the help of agents affiliated to these rackets paying up to ₹1 lakh. On securing the documents, they are sent mainly to Hyderabad where arrangements are made for them to stay and work for long enough to secure Indian passport and other documents like Aadhaar card, voter identity card, and PAN card.
Corroborating this narrative is the fact that all the three Bangladeshi nationals deported from Dubai had Indian passports issued from Hyderabad showing Jalpaiguri in West Bengal as their place of birth. “Once they secure passport, they undertake a short visit to countries such as Malaysia to test its validity before flying out to West Asia or countries such as Canada and Australia. We have information about 20-odd persons who have settled abroad in this manner,” said CB sources.
Meanwhile, search is on for one Utpal Barua suspected to be the linchpin in trafficking people across the Indian border from Bangladesh. He has been absconding since 2017.