Family of 9 Bangladeshi illegal immigrants apprehended in Delhi

Delhi Police arrested nine Bangladeshi illegal immigrants, including an infant, in Bharat Nagar, recovering a smartphone used to contact relatives.

The Delhi Police on Sunday said they had apprehended nine members of a family from Bangladesh, including an infant, from Bharat Nagar, northwest Delhi for allegedly living illegally in India. A smartphone with the banned IMO application that the accused used to contact their relatives in Bangladesh was recovered from them, police said.

A smartphone with the banned IMO application that the accused used to contact their relatives in Bangladesh was recovered from them, police said. (Representational image)

The nine illegal immigrants crossed into India through the Cooch Behar border in West Bengal a few months ago, police said. Initially, they lived in Mewat, Haryana, where they worked at a brick manufacturing unit. Fear of getting caught by the Haryana Police brought them to Delhi a few weeks ago. Since then, they frequently changed footpaths and were in the process of securing rented accommodation in their attempt to blend in, said deputy commissioner of police (northwest) Bhisham Singh.

“The Foreigners Cell received information regarding the presence of an illegal Bangladeshi migrant in Bharat Nagar. We conducted a raid on Friday and checked nearly 100 lanes and 50 footpaths. A suspect was apprehended during the raid, and he was interrogated. Initially, he tried to mislead the team members by claiming to be an Indian citizen. However, upon confrontation, he confessed to being a Bangladeshi national. His interrogation led to the apprehension of eight other members of his family: his wife, children, and his 45-day-old grandson,” said Singh, adding that all nine were handed over to the foreigners regional registration office (FRR) for deportation.

The accused were identified as Mohammad Saidul Islam, 45, his wife, Nazma Begum, 42, their sons Nazmul Ali, 23, Apple Ali, 19, and two others who are aged 17 and 8, a daughter aged 6, Nazmul’s wife, Azina Begum, 20, and her 45-day-old son.