Bangladeshi trafficking racket: Four cops guilty

The Bangladeshi nationals were arrested by the police earlier this year. File pic

Following the mid-day report uncovering the use of illegal documents by Bangladeshis to obtain Indian passports in Pune city, the police commissioner swiftly acted upon realising the seriousness of the situation, ordering a thorough investigation. mid-day extensively covered the news involving illegal entry from Bangladesh into India, specifically linked to Pune city.

Seeking the Pune city commissioner's view on the passport issue, mid-day attempted to contact him. Due to his busy schedule, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Amol Zende from the City Crime Branch was approached instead. The DCP provided essential details. Furthermore, DCP SB 1 Sambhaji Kadam gathered information from the reporter and conveyed it to Pune City, Commissioner, Ritesh Kumar.

The police confiscated fake passports in October. File pic

After a month-long inquiry, it was discovered that four police personnel from three Pune city police stations were involved in passport verification for Bangladeshis. According to an officer, constables in the passport sections were found guilty of negligence. The local DCP submitted a comprehensive report to Commissioner Ritesh Kumar regarding this.

Commissioner Kumar, who was available for comment this time said, "We swiftly initiated an inquiry into this matter and appointed a DCP-rank officer for preliminary investigations. It revealed negligence by four police personnel assigned to passport verification duties at Yerwada, Wanwadi, and other stations. The inquiry is ongoing, and appropriate action will follow the findings. We maintain strict vigilance on illegal infiltrators, with about 42 cases registered against Bangladeshi nationals this year."

Raid led to others

Borivli police dismantled a human trafficking ring aiding 21 Bangladeshi nationals' illegal travel to Gulf nations using fraudulently obtained Indian passports in October. The police seized 8 Indian passports from those arrested.

Investigations revealed passport verifications occurred at Ramtekdi, Yerwada, and Santosh Nagar Hadapsar (Wanawadi Police Station). Shockingly, most passports listed the same address, registered under the name of a person deceased for over 5 years.

Further investigation exposed over 200 fake websites resembling government portals, used to obtain false birth certificates for Bangladeshis. Agents like Sainath Yeilwad, Gangaprasad Karpe, Kusum Gaikwad, and others create Aadhaar cards, PAN cards, and rental agreements for R20,000 to R25,000 per person.

3
No. of police stations in Pune city that are involved in the racket

42
No. of cases registered against Bangladeshis this year