A Bangladeshi illegal migrant staying in Bhopal by impersonating himself as a transgender individual has been arrested by the police. The man, named Abdul Kalam, had been staying at the Budhwara area using the fake name “Neha Kinnar” for many years. Officials disclosed that he used to create false Indian documents, such as an Aadhaar card and a passport, to hide his actual nationality.
Police authorities informed that Kalam was arrested a couple of days back based on intelligence inputs. He is lodged in high security at Talaiya police station and is being interrogated about his activities in the city for the last few years.
Investigations are being conducted to ascertain if Kalam had any suspicious connections or was involved in illegal activities. His cell phone records, call details, social network accounts, and chat records are being analysed to look for potential cross-border connections.
Reports state that Abdul Kalam came to India at the age of 17 and lived in Maharashtra initially before moving to Bhopal’s Mangalwara and Budhwara areas. A case was also confirmed by the police to have been registered against him in 2019 in the MP Nagar police station.
Further investigation is underway to find out who assisted him in forging documents and sheltered him during his stay. The police have stated that an FIR will be registered in regard to the forged documents.
It has also emerged that Kalam managed to travel to Bangladesh and return to India during his stay in Bhopal, despite being an illegal immigrant. This has prompted investigations into how he obtained an Indian passport while being a Bangladeshi national. Central agencies are also involved in the ongoing probe.
The authorities are also probing whether Kalam has any connections with sleeper cell networks. His journey to India, allegedly from Bangladesh to Mumbai and eventually Bhopal, is under investigation. Officials have initiated a hunt to find other Bangladeshi nationals who may be illegally living in Bhopal with such strategies.
The case reminds one of another such incident that happened on June 28 in Delhi, where 18 Bangladeshi nationals were arrested for residing in the country illegally, five of whom were posing as transgender persons. They had gone to the extent of using wigs, cosmetics, and even hormone therapy to change their looks and avoid identification. Some of them were also caught using prohibited messaging apps to chat with relatives back home in Bangladesh. There were such arrests from Mumbai and Pune as well.
All 18 detained persons in the Delhi operation were remanded to the Foreigners Cell for further investigation and legal action.
