Mumbai Crime Branch arrests nine Bangladeshi for illegal stay

MUMBAI: The Mumbai Crime Branch arrested nine Bangladeshi citizens who were living in India illegally. According to official, the arrested people were involved in making fake Aadhaar cards and they illegally transferred money from India to Bangladesh, the police said.

"A total of nine Bangladesh citizens have been arrested...their modus operandi was that they used to transfer money from India to Bangladesh illegally. More people seem to be involved in this...It is a kind of hawala transaction. The money trial is currently under investigation. They used to transfer money through individuals who were crossing borders from India to Bangladesh or vice versa," Crime Branch Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Rajtilak Roushan said speaking at a press conference on Wednesday.

"They made fake Aadhaar cards after coming to India and with the help of fake documents, they opened bank accounts and then they posed as Indian citizens without disclosing their identity," the DCP added.

Speaking about the arrests, the DCP said, "Some people have been arrested from Mumbai, some from Thane and the others from Navi Mumbai."

On the total amount of the transactions, Roushan said, "After some substantial amount was deposited, they used to transfer it to Bangladesh through some people, and when someone came to India, they used to transfer money through him. The total amount transacted may go up to lakhs. We cannot reveal the exact amount yet."

Speaking on how the illegal immigrants used to fund their operations, he said, "They used to take commissions for transferring money to Bangladesh."

Speaking about the beneficiaries of the amount transferred from India, the DCP said, "They were transferring money from India to Bangladesh for the needy people of Bangladesh who were coming to India through legal channels. In addition to this, they were also transferring money for other people who were living illegally in India and they had to send money from India to Bangladesh."