MANGALURU: The Surathkal police have busted an illegal immigration ring and arrested eight Bangladeshi nationals who were working with forged documents at the construction site of Srinivas Hospital in Mukka near Surathkal.

The arrested individuals have been identified as Mohammed Mukhtar Ali (36), Mohammed Rakibur Hussain (44), Mohammed Azrul Islam (36), Mohammed Zaid Husain (18), Mohammed Bilal Hussain (36), Mohammed Hasibul Hasan Shanto (37), Mohammed Samiul Hasan (23), and Mohammed Saibur Rahman. All of them hail from the Rajshahi district of Bangladesh.

According to Mangaluru City Police Commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy, the accused had entered India illegally from Bangladesh about three months ago via Murshidabad in West Bengal. With the help of local agents, they obtained color photocopies of genuine Aadhaar cards belonging to residents of West Bengal, superimposed their own photographs onto them, and laminated the forged documents.

By producing these fake identities to contractors, they secured employment as construction labor for Rs 500 to Rs 600 per day. These laborers worked from dawn to dusk and resided in makeshift sheds on-site, making it difficult for outsiders to notice them.

The breakthrough came following tips from fellow co-workers who noticed discrepancies and alerted the police, who had been closely monitoring the site for the past month. Surathkal police sub-inspector Raghu Nayak and his team rounded up 54 to 55 laborers working under two different construction firms for verification.

During the verification process, the illegal stay of the accused came to light when the police verified their Aadhaar cards using biometric thumb impressions. Digital verification confirmed that the photos stored in the database did not match the photos printed on the physical cards. Their broken Hindi and distinct Bengali dialect further confirmed their Bangladeshi nationality.

The investigation revealed that the accused crossed the international border from Rajshahi to reach Murshidabad in West Bengal to procure the forged documents. Information regarding this network has already been shared with the Border Security Force (BSF) and the local police stations concerned in West Bengal. Currently, no evidence has been found to suggest that the contractors knowingly employed them.

Sources state that due to ongoing crackdowns against illegal immigrants in West Bengal, many individuals who were unable to return to Bangladesh have moved to various other states through networks of agents, highlighting severe negligence on the part of construction firms employing undocumented workers for cheap labor.

The police have intensified their investigation, and the arrested individuals are currently being interrogated at a temporary detention center setup inside a private hospital in Mukka. Teams from the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the State Intelligence Department have gathered crucial inputs to probe whether any other individuals who crossed the border along with the accused are residing or working in the undivided Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts.

A formal report has been submitted to the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO), which has already initiated procedures to deport the illegal immigrants within 15 days. While illegal migrants usually remain in India until the completion of legal proceedings, the FRRO will deport them directly after this probe.

This incident has raised significant security concerns, prompting the general public to urge the authorities to urgently launch comprehensive verification drives for construction workers, industrial laborers, and fisheries bunder workers across all police station limits, similar to the massive drive conducted back in 2022 where over 4,000 workers were verified.

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