Mumbai: On Monday, the Vikhroli police arrested two Bangladeshi nationals who had been residing in the country illegally using forged documents. According to the police, the duo had been living in the country for more than five years. Additionally, one of the accused had married a woman from Bihar whom he had befriended via social media.
The Anti-Terrorist Cell (ATC) of the Vikhroli police received a tip-off about the two accused, leading to a search operation. The tip-off stated that two men, identified as Ripon Murshid Ali, 29, and Bilal Mustaq Hussain, 32, both residents of Dhaka, Bangladesh, had been residing in the slums of Tagore Nagar, Vikhroli East.
Route via the West Bengal border
Following an extensive search operation led by ATC Chief API Prakash Ingle and his team, the two accused were apprehended at their residence. During the interrogation, it was revealed that while Bilal frequently visited Bangladesh via the West Bengal border, Ripon stayed in the city for work purposes. Ripon had entered India illegally along with Bilal almost six to seven years ago. Meanwhile, Ripon met a woman from Bihar and began chatting with her on social media, eventually leading to a visit to Bihar to meet her.
After several years of interaction, they got married in a small ceremony in a village near Patna, Bihar, four months ago. The police confirmed that the woman, in her early twenties, had no knowledge of Ripon or Bilal being Bangladeshi nationals, as both had been posing as Indian citizens.
Police sources suggest that their plan was to gradually bring their family members to India to settle down permanently.
Ingle added that they would now commence the interrogation of the accused and all parties involved, including Ripon's wife and her family members. A case has been registered against the two under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Passport (Entry to India) Rules, and the Foreigners Act. The duo has been presented in court and remanded to police custody.
