In a significant crackdown on illegal immigration, the Indiranagar police in Nashik city arrested eight individuals from Bangladesh on Thursday. The group, comprising six women and two men, was found residing near the Pandav Leni area without possessing any valid passports or official permission to stay in India.
Police Operation Based on Specific Intelligence
Authorities acted on a precise tip-off regarding the presence of the foreign nationals in the locality. A special police team was formed to track and verify the information. Upon confirmation, the team moved in and took the eight individuals into custody.
"We received concrete information about eight Bangladeshi nationals living in the area, which led to the formation of a dedicated team," stated a police officer involved in the operation. "After verifying the details, we conducted the raid and made the arrests."
Deception Unraveled During Interrogation
When initially questioned by the police at their residence, the arrested individuals attempted to conceal their true identities. They claimed to be residents of West Bengal. However, their story quickly fell apart when they failed to produce any documents proving Indian citizenship.
Under further interrogation, they confessed to being citizens of Bangladesh who had entered India illegally. Investigations revealed that the group hailed from various parts of Bangladesh and had been employed in local firms in Nashik for over a month.
Human Trafficking Angle Emerges
The police investigation took a more serious turn with the discovery that the two arrested men were not just illegal immigrants. The duo was allegedly involved in facilitating the movement of people from Bangladesh into various Indian cities, pointing to a possible human trafficking network.
Ongoing Investigation and Past Cases
All eight arrested persons have been remanded to police custody for four days. The police aim to uncover several critical details during this period.
"We will be investigating their prior locations before Nashik, their wider network within the country, their exact duration of stay in India, their placement history, and most importantly, the routes and methods used for their illegal entry without documents," the officer elaborated.
This is not an isolated incident in Nashik. The city's police have been actively pursuing similar cases:
- In June, three Bangladeshi nationals, including a couple from Pune, were arrested for unlawful residence.
- In February, eight Bangladeshi nationals were arrested from a construction site in the Adgaon area. Some of them were even found in possession of Aadhaar cards, highlighting the depth of the issue.
The repeated arrests underscore the ongoing challenges faced by authorities in monitoring and preventing illegal immigration in the region.
