SSB nabs Bangladeshi at Panitanki crossing from Nepal with expired visa
Synopsis
A 36-year-old Bangladeshi welder, lured by a tout's Europe-via-Nepal promise, overstayed in Kolkata for a year, then spent 18 months stranded in Nepal after being cheated. His mother's warning about deportation drives in India pushed him to walk back across the Panitanki Old Bridge — straight into SSB hands, and an FIR under the Foreigners Act.
Key Takeaways
Mohammed Mukter Hossain (36) , a Bangladeshi national, was nabbed by the 41 Bn SSB at the Ranidanga BIT check post on 3 June 2026 .
He had entered India via ICPS Haridaspur on 30 August 2023 ; his visa expired on 23 September 2023 .
Hossain stayed in Kolkata's New Market area before a tout moved him to Nepal, promising European employment.
He spent about one-and-a-half years working as a welder in Nepal before attempting to surrender in India.
An FIR has been registered at Kharibari police station under the Foreigners Act and Passport Act .
A Bangladeshi national was apprehended by troops of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) on Wednesday, 3 June 2026, while attempting to enter India from Nepal on foot across the Old Bridge at Panitanki in north Bengal, carrying a passport with an expired Indian visa. The accused, identified as Mohammed Mukter Hossain (36), was intercepted at the BIT check post in Ranidanga by personnel of the 41 Battalion SSB.
Who was detained
Hossain is a resident of Madanmohanpur, Nawabganj, Dhaka, in Bangladesh. According to an SSB official, when troops at the check post sought identity documents, he produced a Bangladeshi passport bearing an expired Indian visa.
Trail of an overstay
“It seems that he entered India through ICPS Haridaspur on 30.08.2023. His visa expired on 23.09.2023, but Hossain continued to stay in India in the New Market area of Kolkata,” the SSB official said. Pockets near New Market are known to be favoured by Bangladeshi nationals during legal visits, though some illegal immigrants are also reported to take shelter there.
After roughly a year in Kolkata, Hossain reportedly came in contact with a tout who promised to arrange his passage to Europe via Nepal, along with a job there. “The tout then facilitated his travel from India to Nepal. They allegedly crossed the Indo-Nepal border from an unknown place,” the official said, adding that Hossain claimed he was unaware of the exact crossing point.
Eighteen months in Nepal
Hossain told interrogators he stayed on in Nepal for about one-and-a-half years, working as a welder, after the agent who took his money cut off all contact. He said he had deliberately crossed back into India and surrendered to facilitate his legal return to Bangladesh.
“While in Nepal, his mother apparently told him of the deportation of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants from India and advised him to surrender to the authorities to avoid persecution. On Tuesday, he boarded a bus from Kathmandu to Kakarbhitta. On Wednesday, he attempted to cross the Old Bridge at Panitanki on foot, when he was apprehended,” the official added.
Legal action
Hossain was subjected to joint interrogation by security agencies before being handed over to the Kharibari police station, where an FIR has been registered under relevant sections of the Foreigners Act and the Passport Act. Investigators are expected to probe the wider tout network that allegedly facilitated his movement from Kolkata to Nepal and his attempted re-entry.
Point of View
Year-long urban overstay, tout-facilitated exit through a porous Indo-Nepal stretch — mirrors a pattern that security agencies have flagged for years. The fact that a deportation-driven fear pushed him to surrender, rather than enforcement catching him, points to the limits of detection along open borders. Until the tout networks operating between Kolkata and the eastern Nepal frontier are dismantled, individual interceptions will remain symptomatic, not systemic.
NationPress
23 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Mohammed Mukter Hossain and why was he arrested?
Mohammed Mukter Hossain is a 36-year-old Bangladeshi national from Madanmohanpur, Nawabganj, in Dhaka. He was apprehended by SSB troops at the Panitanki Old Bridge on 3 June 2026 while crossing into India from Nepal carrying a Bangladeshi passport with an expired Indian visa.
When did Hossain originally enter India?
According to the SSB, Hossain entered India through ICPS Haridaspur on 30 August 2023. His Indian visa expired on 23 September 2023, after which he continued to stay illegally in the New Market area of Kolkata.
How did he end up in Nepal?
Hossain told investigators that after about a year in Kolkata he contacted a tout who promised to arrange his travel to Europe through Nepal and a job there. The tout allegedly helped him cross the Indo-Nepal border at an unspecified point, then cut off contact after taking his money.
Why did he try to return to India?
Hossain said his mother, hearing reports of deportation drives against illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in India, advised him to surrender to Indian authorities to facilitate a legal return to Bangladesh. He boarded a bus from Kathmandu to Kakarbhitta on Tuesday and walked across the Panitanki Old Bridge the next day.
What charges does he face?
An FIR has been registered against him at the Kharibari police station under relevant sections of the Foreigners Act and the Passport Act. He was handed over to police after joint interrogation by security agencies.
