E-Paper
Bangla man held for entering India on forged documents
U.P. ATS arrests another illegal Bangladeshi immigrant involved in anti-national activities, making it a total of eight arrests since October 2023. The arrested man helped others enter India illegally and was caught trying to escape to Bangladesh. The mastermind behind the operation was also arrested earlier in January. They received foreign funding of ₹58 crore and used it to bring people into the country illegally.
The U.P. ATS arrested another illegal Bangladeshi immigrant staying in Deoband, Saharanpur, for the past eight years for allegedly helping illegal entry into India and carrying out anti-national activities in the country, on Wednesday.
So far, eight people have been arrested in this connection since October 2023.
According to the ATS officials, the arrested man, identified as Mohd Rashid Ahmad Sardar, 28, a resident of Chatgaon, Bangladesh, was found living in Deoband after illegally entering India in 2016. He initially got admission in a Deoband madrasa by forging documents.
Thereafter, he lived there continuously and was involved in helping other Bangladeshi infiltrators enter the country by forging documents. He was arrested from Kanpur Central railway station when he was trying to escape to Bangladesh.
Earlier on January 8, the ATS arrested its mastermind Abu Saleh, a resident of West Bengal, for getting foreign funding of ₹58 crore in the name of NGO and misusing it to bring people into the country illegally and carrying out anti-national activities. He was arrested in Manak Nagar area of Lucknow with the help of information received through technical surveillance and ground inputs, read a press note by UP ATS.
According to the ATS, they were receiving intelligence about a syndicate formed by some persons, who hide their identity and settle illegal entrants into India on fake Indian documents. By giving them financial support, they promote anti-national activities. “On the basis of it, cases under several IPC sections, Section 14 of Foreigners Act 1946 and Section 12(1), 12(2) Passport Act 1967 were registered,” the press note read.
During interrogation, Abu Saleh claimed to be the director of the trusts Kabir Bagh Millat Academy and Haroa-al Jamiatul Islamia Darul Uloom Madrasa. “In the FCRA accounts of these trusts, an enormous sum of funding totaling around ₹58 crore was received from outside (Umma Welfare Trust, UK) in 2018 and 2022,” said the police press note.
The press note explained that a large part of foreign funds received is obtained in the form of cash through fake billing for his team members. Apart from this, billing has also been done by creating a fake firm named Ghazi Foods Supply and Ghazi Masonries in collaboration with a person named Abdulla Ghazi. This firm exists only on paper. Besides, some money has also been received in the form of cash through Hawala.
The cash received was used for bringing in Rohingya and Bangladeshis into India illegally through their syndicate, providing financial assistance to Rohingyas and Bangladeshis living illegally in India, making fake Indian documents and sending that money back to India through Hawala.
