Five Bangladeshis, one Indian woman arrested in Dehradun, four children taken into police custody

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun

Dehradun Police arrested five Bangladeshi nationals for illegally residing in the Clement Town area of the city late on Friday. One Indian woman was also arrested while four minors, also Bangladeshis, were taken into police custody for protection.

The Dehradun senior superintendent of police Ajai Singh said that he received a confidential tip-off about some Bangladeshis illegally living there following which he formed a joint verification team comprising officials from the Special Operations Group (SOG), Local Intelligence Unit (LIU), Clement Town Police Station,

Army Intelligence and the Intelligence Bureau (IB). He said that during the verification drive at lane number 11, Post Office Road in Clement Town, the police detained Munir Chandra Rai, Krishna alias Santosh Rai, Nirmal Rai, Shyam Rai and Lipi Rai, all Bangladeshis, along with an Indian woman identified as Pooja Rani alias Roshna. The detainees were accompanied by four Bangladeshi children and one Indian boy. Upon being questioned, none of the Bangladeshis could furnish valid travel documents such as passports or visas.

The police recovered two Bangladeshi national identity cards from Krishna and Nirmal, and two fake Aadhaar cards from Munir. A forged permanent residence certificate from Bihar and four mobile phones were also seized, Singh said. “It was revealed in the initial inquiry that Munir, now 30, illegally entered India at the age of 16 through the Radhikapur border in West Bengal. After spending time with relatives in Kalyan Ganj, he worked for a period in Noida and Faridabad, where he married an Indian woman, Pooja, in 2016. Pooja, originally from Cooch Behar in West Bengal, had previously been married and had two sons from her first marriage. One of them currently resides in Rajasthan, while the other was living with her in Dehradun. Pooja and Munir have two daughters together,” the SSP said.

He further informed that investigations revealed that Munir played a key role in bringing several other Bangladeshis into India illegally with the assistance of two individuals identified as Noor Islam and Mohammad Alam. About six months ago, Munir allegedly facilitated the entry of Nirmal, Shyam and Lipi along with her two children into Dehradun for daily wage work. Three months ago, Pooja and her three children, along with her nephew Krishna alias Santosh, also arrived in Dehradun. All of them were reportedly assisted by Noor Islam, a contractor based in Delhi, as per Singh.

The arrested individuals have been booked under sections 338, 336(3), 340(2), 318(4) and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), as well as sections 3, 12 and 14 of the Passport Act, 1967. The police are now searching for absconding Noor Islam and Mohammad Alam, he said. Besides this, the police had earlier arrested a Bangladeshi woman, Rubina Akhtar on May 16 in Haridwar. She had been residing under the alias Ruby Devi in the Rodibelwal area near Har Ki Paidi for several years. Her Indian husband, Santosh Dubey and her minor son from a previous marriage were also taken into custody. According to Haridwar senior superintendent of police Pramendra Dobhal, Rubina’s speech and accent during a verification drive raised suspicions, prompting a deeper inquiry.

Further investigation revealed that she had illegally entered India about a decade ago with her then five-year-old son and later married Santosh, resident from the Bareilly-Pilibhit region. With his help, she had allegedly procured forged identity documents, including an Aadhaar card and PAN card, under a false identity. She remained in touch with her father and brother in Bangladesh, with digital evidence of this communication found on her mobile phone, the SSP said. Dobhal stated that the woman’s illegal entry and use of fake identity documents are being investigated in detail. It is pertinent to mention that Uttarakhand shares international borders with both China and Nepal, making it strategically significant from a security standpoint.

Besides this, lakhs of pilgrims arrive each year for the Char Dham Yatra, which passes through key districts like Haridwar and Dehradun to visit the Char Dham situated in the border districts of Uttarkashi and Chamoli, in addition to Rudraprayag further increasing the need for heightened vigilance. In the wake of the recent Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, security agencies have intensified verification drives, routine checks and surveillance across the State to prevent illegal infiltration and ensure the safety of residents and pilgrims alike.  Officials said that they are thoroughly investigating how these individuals managed to reside illegally in the area, with a particular focus on identifying any local people who may have assisted or sheltered them.