Ahilyanagar (Maharashtra) [India], June 27 : In a joint operation on Wednesday, the Military Intelligence unit of the Southern Command of Indian Army and the MIDC Police Station in Ahilyanagar apprehended three Bangladeshi nationals who were illegally residing and working in the region for the past two years using forged Indian documents.
Acting on specific intelligence provided by the Military Intelligence unit of Southern Command, authorities raided a construction site at Mouli Crusher in Pokhardi, under the jurisdiction of MIDC Police Station, and detained the three individuals.
The immigrants had been working as labourers and had assumed false Indian identities with fake Aadhaar and PAN cards.
According to officials, the trio had been living in Ahilyanagar for two years and had blended into the local population using forged identification to evade detection. Their questioning is currently underway to determine if they have any links to anti-national elements (ANEs) or broader illegal immigration networks.
A senior officer from the investigation team said, "We suspect more such illegal immigrants may be residing in various parts of Ahilyanagar and across Maharashtra. This operation could lead to wider revelations as the inquiry progresses, further investigations are underway".
Earlier, in a successful joint operation, the Southern Command Military Intelligence Unit and Kondhwa Police Station of Pune City Police apprehended four illegal immigrants from Bangladesh residing in a labour camp near Punyadham Ashram Road, Notting Hill Society, Pune.
The operation was conducted on June 13, following specific intelligence received by Military Intelligence about the presence of undocumented foreign nationals at a labour site in the Kondhwa area. Based on the input, a team was quickly formed with local police and a surprise raid was carried out at the identified location.
During the verification process at the construction site, four individuals attempted to flee but were swiftly caught by the joint team. Upon interrogation and document checking, their identity as Bangladeshi nationals living illegally in India was established.
The apprehended individuals have been identified as Swapan Mandal (39), Mithun Kumar Santal (35), Ranodhir Mandal (29), and Dilip Mondal (38). All four individuals hail from Satkhira district in Bangladesh, which shares a porous border with India and has been flagged in the past for illegal cross-border movements.