Two Individuals Arrested for Creating Fake Passports for Illegal Bangladeshi Immigrants
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Kolkata, Dec 15 (NationPress) Two individuals have been apprehended for their suspected roles in a scheme to produce counterfeit Indian passports for Bangladeshi nationals unlawfully entering West Bengal, an official reported on Sunday.
The individuals arrested have been named as Samaresh Biswas and Deepak Mondal. Biswas resides in Barasat, located in North 24 Parganas, whereas Mondal is from South 24 Parganas.
Mondal is employed as a contractual worker with the Indian postal service. According to sources within the state police, his son Ripon Mondal was also detained recently by law enforcement.
During his questioning, Ripon admitted that his father and Biswas were part of the operation. Both suspects were brought before a district court on Sunday, where they were remanded to police custody until December 20.
Authorities have noted that Biswas had previously been arrested in New Delhi for his involvement in forgery-related crimes.
This counterfeit passport operation, which is active across various regions in West Bengal, particularly in districts adjacent to Bangladesh, has become a significant concern for intelligence and security agencies amidst fears of increasing illegal immigration due to the ongoing crisis in Bangladesh.
Recently, Selim Matabbabar, a former affiliate of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), was arrested at a hotel in the Park Street area of Kolkata.
He secured employment at the hotel using a counterfeit Indian passport obtained through a network in the bordering Nadia district.
Intelligence reports suggest that members of the Bangladesh-based extremist group Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HUT) have been attempting to increase their presence along the border districts of West Bengal and are making efforts to establish sleeper cells in the area.
Moreover, there are growing concerns about the sudden rise in the number of outsiders renting accommodations in various villages near the international border with Bangladesh.
