Representative image showing a police officer.
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New Delhi: Thirteen suspected Bangladeshi nationals, including five minors, were detained for allegedly living in Delhi without valid documentation, police said on Friday.
Mohd Rafikul (50), Khoteza Begum (41), Mohd Anowar Hussain (37), Mohd Aminul Islam (28), Zorina Begum (27), Afroza Khatun (25), Mohd Khakhon (20), Hasna (19) and five minors hailed from Khudigram in Bangladesh, the police said.
They were detained from outer Delhi's Auchandi village during an operation.
"The operation was carried out following specific intelligence about Bangladeshi nationals seeking accommodation in the village. A team laid a trap on May 13 and detained 13 individuals," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Aditya Gautam said.
Upon interrogation, the detainees confessed to being Bangladeshi nationals and admitted that they did not possess any legal documentation permitting them to stay in India, he said.
They revealed that they entered India two years ago with the help of a Bangladeshi agent, identified as Zalil Ahmad, the officer said.
They travelled from their village by bus to the India-Bangladesh border and crossed into Indian territory through unfenced agriculture fields. From there, they hired an autorickshaw to the Cooch Behar station in West Bengal.
From Cooch Behar, the group boarded a train to Delhi and eventually reached Kharkhoda in Haryana by bus. They found employment as casual labourers at a brick kiln in the Sisana village of Kharkhoda.
Bangladeshi identity documents were also seized from them, the police said.