Lucknow: The issue of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants came to fore in Uttar Pradesh again after five people, including a 17-year-old juvenile, were arrested along with 13 passports and five Aadhaar cards in Kanpur.
While four of the accused had two passports, including Indian and Bangladeshi, the police also confiscated Rs.14.56 lakh in cash along with $1,001 (around Rs 82,560) from them. Police claimed that there could be a “serious act linked to national security”.
According to a statement from the Kanpur Police, the four of the accused were identified as Rizwan Mohammad (53), Khalid Majid (79), Hina Khalid (45), and Rukhsar Rizwan (21). While Khalid is the father of Hina, Rizwan is married to her, the police said.
“During interrogation, they could not give details about their Bangladeshi passports, fake Aadhaar cards, Rs. 14.56 lakh cash and the foreign currency recovered from them. When they were questioned during detention, they said that they were in India since 2016. Khalid Majid is an Indian national and so is Hina. Bangladeshi passports were found from them too,” the police statement said.
Kanpur additional commissioner (law and order) Anand Prakash Tiwari said family members have two passports each, an Indian and Bangladeshi. “Forged Aadhaar cards and other fake documents have been found which would help them establish themselves as Indian nationals. The main accused, Rizwan, is a resident of Bangladesh’s Khulna. The recovery of Aadhaar cards and foreign currency and possession of multiple passports with family members hint at a serious situation,” he said.
An FIR was lodged with the Moolganj police station under Sections 419 (punishment for cheating by impersonation), 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (fraudulently or dishonestly using as genuine any forged document or electronic record) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC and Section 14 of the Foreigners Act.
“A paper has been recovered from them in which Sisamau MLA Irfan Solanki certified him (Rizwan) as a resident of Kanpur in 2019. Another paper has been recovered in which councilor Mannu Rehman has certified his Kanpur residence,” Tiwari said.
Solanki, an Samajwadi Party MLA, is currently in jail after he and his brother surrendered before the police in connection with an arson in the first week of December.
Police claimed that the matter “could be related to national security” given the amount of cash as well as the nature of documents found from the accused.
“The way cash and multiple passports have been found, the way they hid their identity, and the way an elected representative certified their address, it is possible that he (Rizwan) is some agent, possible that he is involved in some other illegal activity. It is also possible that some serious act of treason may also come to fore,” Tiwari said.
“From the main accused, three Aadhaar cards were found in which names are same but addresses are different. Along with that, Aadhaar cards were recovered from his family members and two passports each have been found from them. Both Indian and Bangladeshi currencies have been recovered,” the additional commissioner said. “It is a serious case. As of now, we are looking at it as a case related to national security.”
The case is set to increase trouble for Solanki who had surrendered in connection with a case lodged against him by a woman for allegedly setting ablaze a thatched hut on a disputed property. Both sides claim ownership of the property.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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