Kolkata Police Searching For Foreign Nationals Staying Illegally In India

(MENAFN- IANS) Kolkata, May 14 (IANS) The sleuths of the Kolkata Police's Security Control Organisation are now trying to track down foreign nationals who arrived in the city with proper documents but did not leave even after their visa terms expired.

Insiders from the city police said that the new initiative has been mooted following apprehension that many such foreign nationals have managed to arrange fake Indian identity documents, including Indian passports for themselves through unfair means, and have started residing in the city posing as Indian citizens.

In this hunting exercise, sources said, special focus is on foreign nationals from Bangladesh and Pakistan who arrived with proper visas but never went back.

During the last one-and-a-half months, at least six such people have been tracked in the city who came from these two countries, arranged for their fake Indian identity documents and then started living permanently in the city posing as Indian citizens.

The most serious among the six cases is that of Azad Mullick, originally a Pakistani citizen, who was arrested by the officials of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the city last month. It was later learnt that Azad, a Pakistani citizen, first arranged Bangladeshi citizenship through fake documents and started residing there.

In due course, he shifted to Kolkata and subsequently arranged for Indian identity documents, including an Indian passport for himself, using fake documents. He was also running rackets on hawala, fake Indian passports, and fake visas for certain foreign nations from his residence in the northern outskirts of Kolkata.

Again, earlier this month, the security control organisation sleuths identified four members of the same family who had been residing in Kolkata for quite some time, with all of them possessing both Indian and Bangladeshi passports.

The four persons have been identified as Vijay Modi, his wife Kasaulya Modi, and their sons Dilip Modi and Asish Modi.

Preliminary investigation revealed that they came to India with valid visas and started residing at Palm Avenue in South Kolkata. However, they stayed back in Kolkata even after the term of their visas expired, and in the meantime, arranged their fake Indian identity documents, starting with AADHAAR and EPIC cards, and finally Indian passports on the basis of the other Indian identity documents.

Also, during the current month, the security control organisation sleuths identified one original Bangladeshi citizen, Sheikh Ramzan, who was staying at a rented accommodation at Tangra in Kolkata.

He also came to Kolkata with proper visas and subsequently arranged Indian identity documents for himself and started residing permanently in the city, posing as an Indian citizen.

MENAFN14052025000231011071ID1109546468