Bangladeshi man arrested for illegally residing in India for 35 years

During questioning, the accused claimed he had entered India from Bangladesh at the age of six, citing unemployment and starvation in his home country

MUMBAI: A Bangladeshi national who had allegedly been living illegally in India for the past 35 years was arrested on Tuesday by a special team of the Sakinaka police.

Bangladeshi man arrested for illegally residing in India for 35 years.

According to the police, the 41-year-old man has been identified as Badshah Afzal Mulla. A police officer said, “We have seized an Aadhaar card from him, which turned out to be fake. He stated that he had come to India when he was six years old, due to unemployment and starvation in Bangladesh.” Since then, he has lived in various cities in India, the police said.

The arrest came after Sakinaka police’s Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) had received information that some Bangladeshi nationals were residing in the area. Acting on the tip-off, a special operation was launched, during which Mulla was detained from Khairani Road in Andheri East on Tuesday.

Further inquiry revealed that Mulla is originally from Nodail village in Kalia, Bangladesh, and was currently residing in Dongri village near a mosque on Uttan Road in Bhayandar.

A case has been registered against him under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Passport Act. He was produced before a local court in Andheri, which remanded him to police custody. The police are trying to find who helped him procure fake documents and whether he knows any other Bangladeshi nationals residing in Mumbai or elsewhere in the country.