Kolkata: The arrest of a Bangladeshi national who entered India using forged documents and had been living here since last year has set off a political blame game in West Bengal between the ruling TMC and the BJP. On Saturday morning, Kolkata police arrested an individual later identified as Selim Matabbar from a hotel in the city.
Matabbar claimed during interrogation that he entered India using forged documents last year and had been living here under the assumed identity of ‘Ravi Sharma’. He also claimed that he is a former member of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) who fled to India following a dispute with the Awami League led by then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Sources in Kolkata police told ThePrint that Matabbar had even managed to obtain a fake Indian passport using forged documents, including an Aadhaar card, to conceal his real identity.
Matabbar was arrested from a hotel on Kolkata’s Marquise Street, which is popular among Bangladeshis visiting India.
Besides Matabbar, police arrested four other Bangladeshi nationals Saturday in the neighbouring district from Nadia. The four, including at least one woman, allegedly entered India without a valid passport or visa last Thursday and were living with a local resident.
Police sources said the arrests were made after a tip-off.
The arrests came in the backdrop of protests in parts of the country, including in West Bengal, over the arrest of a Hindu monk in Bangladesh on charges of sedition. Against this backdrop, Trinamool leader Abhishek Banerjee reiterated Saturday that the volatile situation in Bangladesh is a central subject and the TMC will refrain from commenting on it.
“I have cleared my stand that you have to follow the Constitution of the country and the state has no role in it. The onus is on the Union government to take it up with the Bangladesh government,” he said.
The MP from Diamond Harbour added that the TMC will “support the Centre’s decision, or in that case, the home ministry or external affairs ministry should pass a notification” asking the state government to look into the issue of cross-border infiltration. “It is the job of BSF (Border Security Force) and not Bengal police. Amit Shah is the one who is looking after this ministry,” he told the media during a press conference in Diamond Harbour.
On the other hand, BJP’s West Bengal unit has warned of widespread protests if the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government in Bangladesh fails to ensure the safety of religious minorities, particularly Hindus. The BJP also threatened to prevent Bangladeshi nationals from undergoing medical treatment at hospitals in Kolkata.
Alleging that the ruling party led by West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee “accommodates” Bangladeshi nationals who enter the country illegally, BJP MP Samik Bhattacharya told ThePrint, “The India-Bangladesh border is porous and the water bodies make it tough for a single agency to prevent illegal infiltration. But Bengal has become a hub for Bangladeshis and Rohingyas to procure illegal documents and settle in India.”
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