The Mumbai Police recently arrested two Bangladeshi women who re-entered India despite being deported in August last year. In the first case, a 38-year-old woman was arrested on Tuesday at the Gateway of India. The police registered a case under the Foreigners Act.
The police received information that a Bangladeshi woman was present at the Gateway of India without any valid documents. Upon being questioned, she identified herself as Zulekha Jamal Sheikh and said she was living on a footpath in the Kamathipura area.
Sheikh said she had been deported in August and was handed over to Bangladeshi authorities. However, sometime later, she re-entered India through the forests located along the India-Bangladesh border. Sheikh failed to produce a passport, visa, or any other valid travel documents.
An investigation revealed that Sheikh's original address was in Bangladesh's Jashore district. Police are now trying to find out who helped the woman cross the border and whether any organised network was involved.
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In the second case, 30-year-old Bilkis Begum Sirmiya Akhtar was arrested after she entered India illegally. Akhtar had been living in Mumbai's Cuffe Parade area.
Initially, when Akhtar was confronted by the police, she did not answer questions properly and remained evasive. Subsequently, her identity was confirmed with the help of an informant.
As the interrogation expanded, Akhtar revealed that she was deported by the Mumbai crime branch in August but re-entered the city illegally. She also said she was living in a rented room in the Cuffe Parade area without any valid documents.
The police carried out a raid at the 30-year-old woman's house, where they found a mobile phone. Upon examining the device, a Bangladeshi national ID and related photographs.
A First Information Report (FIR) was registered against Akhtar under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Foreigners Act.
