Uttar Pradesh: Seven Bangladeshi nationals arrested in Jhansi under Foreigners Act

The SSP said the seven arrested were from Dhaka and were identified as Mamoon Sheikh, Milan Sheikh, Aslam Sheikh, Falan Sheikh, Sijer Sheikh, Mukul Sheikh, and Monu Veid. The men were arrested from the hotel they had been staying near a bus stand in the town.

“For some time, they were in the business of selling fish oil. No criminal cases have been found against them but they have been booked under the Foreigners Act for illegally staying in India,” Pradeep said.

The Uttar Pradesh Police has launched a crackdown against illegal immigrants in the state. In the last few years, several Bangladeshi nationals have been held by the Uttar Pradesh police for traveling without valid documents.

In May last year, the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad had arrested six Bangladeshi citizens. In 2018, the squad picked up three persons for their alleged involvement in preparing fake documents for illegal immigrants.

Imprisonment under the Passport Act and Foreigners Act range between one and five years. Depending on the outcome of each case, once the trial is completed, a police team escorts the immigrants to the International Check Post on the India-Bangladesh border.

Last month, the BSF said the outflow of illegal Bangladeshi migrants to their home country had substantially increased in the last one month. The officers, however, said the increase in the outflow was not due to the enactment of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

BSF Inspector General (South Bengal Frontier) Y B Khurania said, “There has been an increase in the outflow of illegal Bangladeshi migrants to the bordering country in the last one month. In January, we had apprehended 268 illegal Bangladeshi migrants, most of whom were trying to sneak out into the neighbouring country.”