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Kochi: A Bangladeshi couple who had been staying illegally in Kerala for years using forged documents were arrested on Friday, police said.
Dasharath Banerjee (38) and his wife Mari Bibi (33), had been residing in the Edavanakad area posing as Indian citizens, they added.
The couple were arrested by the Njarakkal police during a search operation under the 'Operation Clean' initiative, a crackdown led by Ernakulam Rural District Police Chief Vaibhav Saxena, police said.
Investigations revealed that the couple had illegally entered India and obtained fake Aadhaar cards, election ID cards, and birth certificates from West Bengal.
Using these forged documents, they later moved to Kerala, where they created additional fake identity proofs, including Aadhaar cards, PAN cards, ration cards, and gas connections here, police added.
With these fraudulent credentials, the couple purchased and registered land in Edavanakad, where they had been living in a tin-sheet house.
During the inspection, police also recovered a Kerala driving license and a copy of a vehicle's RC book.
With this arrest, the total number of Bangladeshi nationals apprehended in the Ernakulam rural police limits this year has reached 37, police said.
Recently, 27 Bangladeshi nationals who were illegally staying and working here were arrested by the police.