Thane court orders deportation of Bangladeshi national for illegal stay

A court in Maharashtrarsquos Thane district has ordered the deportation of a Bangladeshi national who was found guilty of illegally entering and residing in India without valid documentation PTI reportsAccording to PTI Additional Sessions Judge G T Pawar sentenced the accused Vimal Ranjeet Vishwas to one year and 54 days in prison a duration he had already served in custody In addition to the sentence the court imposed a fine of 1000 on him Since he had completed his term the court directed that he be deported to Bangladesh upon completion of the necessary legal formalities A copy of the order issued on 5th March was made available on MondayAs per PTI reports the case came to light on 9th January 2024 when the police apprehended Vishwas in Bhayander where he had been working in an industrial area Upon investigation it was discovered that he did not possess any valid Indian citizenship documents During questioning the accused admitted to being a Bangladeshi national and confessed that he had illegally entered India after paying 20000 to an agent PTI reportsThe court emphasised that under Section 9 of the Foreigners Act the responsibility to prove legal residence in India lies with the accused Judge Pawar noted that at no stage during the investigation or trial did the accused produce any valid documentation to establish his legal entry or residency in the country Neither during the investigation nor the trial did the accused provide any documents proving Indian citizenship or valid entry into India the court stated in its orderAs per PTI since Vishwas had already served his sentence in custody the court ordered his immediate deportation and instructed the authorities to complete all necessary formalities at the earliestMumbai Bangladeshi national son arrested for staying illegally in Andheri WestTwo illegalBangladeshi nationalsmdasha father and sonmdashhave been apprehended by the Versova police for allegedly entering India by swimming across the Padma river in a manner akin to how Shariful Islam the alleged attacker of actor Saif Ali Khan crossed the Dawki river seven months ago The authorities discovered that both individuals worked for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC on a contractual basisThe accused Bukhtiyar Dosur Sheikh 70 and his son Moner 35 were residing at Yari Road in VersovaAndheri West They hail from Andulbaria village in the Jibannagar upazila of the Khulna divisionrsquos Chuadanga district in Dhaka Investigations revealed security lapses along rivers at the IndiaBangladesh borderThe Ganges upon entering Bangladesh is referred to as the Padma Approximately 54 rivers that form the border between India andBangladesh and authorities suspect security lapses along these riverine borders According to a police officer Bukhtiyar and Moner entered India eight years ago via the Padma after informing their family that they would return after making money in India but they never didCop SpeakA police officer stated ldquoThe accused revealed that in April and March sections of the Padma in Bangladesh tend to dry up and thanks to low water levels they managed to enter India from Bangladesh eight years ago Later they started working as labourersrdquo ldquoSubsequently they met a contractor who enables people to work for the BMC as sweepers The duo took up the job and have been working under the contractor for many years Authorities have not yet found anyIndian documentson themrdquo the officer addedInvestigating officer PSI Sachin Ugale ofVersova police stationsaid ldquoLate on Wednesday night the duo was spotted roaming in the area We suspected that they were under the influence of drugs When we took them into custody after they failed to provide their identity they revealed that they were Bangladeshi nationalsrdquo ldquoWe arrested them for allegedly entering India without any valid passport or visardquo he addedWith inputs from PTI