Illegal B’deshi immigration network busted

The Delhi Police busted a network aiding illegal Bangladeshi immigrants settling in India, officials said on Saturday. They arrested eight Bangladeshi nationals, deported six and put four under scanner.

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The police also booked eight Indian citizens involved in forging documents, providing shelter and facilitating illicit money transfers.

During the operation, the police unearthed a large-scale identity fraud scheme where illegal immigrants obtained forged Aadhaar, PAN cards, voter IDs and even Indian passports. The kingpin of the racket, Mohd Moinuddin, ran a computer shop in Delhi and specialised in fabricating fake birth certificates and other documents.

“Moinuddin, along with his associates, was creating fraudulent documents that allowed illegal immigrants to blend into Indian society seamlessly. Corrupt Aadhaar agents played a crucial role in getting them officially registered,” said a senior police official.

The police recovered 23 voter cards, 19 PAN cards, 17 Aadhaar cards, 11 birth certificates, six blank voter ID cards and a computer system used for document forgery.

The probe also unearthed an elaborate money laundering system where illegal immigrants funneled funds to Bangladesh via digital payment apps like Google Pay, PayTm and PhonePe in a hawala-style operation.

“The money trail shows a sophisticated system where cash collected from illegal workers in Delhi was transferred to their families in Bangladesh using UPI apps. Licensed forex agents and hawala operators were instrumental in moving these funds,” the official added.

Among those involved in the financial operations were Manwar Hussain, who collected cash from immigrants, and forex agents Nimai Karmakar and Gouranga Dutta, who facilitated cross-border money transfers.

The arrested individuals had embedded themselves in various low-wage sectors such as waste management, delivery services and housekeeping using fake credentials. Some had even managed to enroll their children in Indian schools, the police said.

One of the accused, Mohd Rejaul, had been living in India since 2000 and worked as a cab driver while travelling to Bangladesh 22 times in two years to transfer money and goods.

“The network ensured that illegal immigrants had access to jobs, housing and official identity documents, making it difficult to detect them. Some of them had been living here for decades,” the officer stated.

The arrested individuals have been booked under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, Foreigners Act, 1946, and the Aadhaar Act, 2016, for offenses related to forgery, illegal entry and fraudulent documentation.