The Kerala police arrested Salim Mandal, an illegal Bangladeshi immigrant, in Perumbavoor, Ernakulam district, on March 27 with counterfeit currency. His interrogation by the Ernakulam Rural District Police revealed a dangerous web of crimes—he had not only been residing illegally in Kerala for 13 years but was also deeply involved in smuggling, circulating fake currency, and facilitating the infiltration of more illegal immigrants.
Shockingly, his mother, Rejeena (53), was also found to be living illegally and was arrested alongside him. Mandal had duped authorities into securing an Aadhaar card and an Indian passport, which he used to obtain a Bangladesh visa and travel frequently, attempting to pass himself off as an Indian citizen. His illegal activities extended beyond currency counterfeiting—he had been stealing mobile phones, laptops, and other electronics from India and smuggling them into Bangladesh to evade tracking through IMEI numbers.
His smuggling operations ran like a highly coordinated network—transporting batches of fifty mobile phones to Bangladesh and bringing back fake currency notes in return. Alarmingly, he had also used his financial influence to bail out migrant Bangladeshi labourers arrested in various cases, raising concerns about his links to a larger organised network. Salim had a criminal past as well, having been previously arrested for a sexual assault case in Perumbavoor.
With Perumbavoor hosting the largest migrant labour population in Kerala, estimated at nearly a lakh, concerns over illegal infiltration continue to grow. Many of these migrants, nationalist groups warn, are Bangladeshis who falsely claim to be from West Bengal.
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