KIA officials spot illegal Bangladeshi immigrants

Training on identifying the Bengali accent used by Bangladeshis helped immigration officials at the Kempegowda International Airport nab illegal immigrants.

In two separate instances, officials caught two Bangladeshis on September 19 during a "casual chat". They were trying to fly to Dubai using tourist visas and tickets which they claimed were sent by their relatives.

The arrested have been identified as Ahmed Suhail (21) a resident of Kodihalli in HAL 3rd Stage and Alal-Uddin Kazi (34), a resident of Gurupanpalaya on Bannerghatta Road.

There has been a spurt in such cases in recent times as employers in West Asia prefer Indians over Bangladeshis, who, according to the Bureau of Immigration (BOI) sources, are prone to commit frauds, are inefficient and unskilled. They added that immigration officials in Dubai and other Gulf countries are stringent when it comes to permitting Bangladeshis into their countries.

Immigration officer Ashok Pal (38) apprehended Ahmed Suhail when he was trying to fly out of Bengaluru to Sharjah on flight number G9-497 around 4.30 am. The passenger had submitted the requisite travel documents to the BOI who suspected him to be a Bangladeshi.

While chatting with him, they learnt that he was indeed a Bangladeshi who had valid Bangladeshi and Indian passports. Suhail had used his Bangladeshi passport and visited Sri Lanka in 2017. He procured a Sri Lankan passport and flew to India and lived in Tripura, the officials discovered on questioning him.

In Tripura, he managed to get a fake school transfer certificate, came to Bengaluru where he got his Aadhaar card, PAN card and driving licence before getting a valid Indian passport, with which he was trying to fly to Sharjah.

In another case, immigration official Jayesh Kumar (30) apprehended Alal Uddin Kazi who has been an illegal resident of India over the last 14 years. He was picked up with his accent and the officials learnt that he sneaked into West Bengal from Bangladesh through the porous borders and worked as a waiter there.

He then learnt plumbing and came to Bengaluru where he stayed for seven years before managing to get a rental agreement with the help of an associate. He soon got an Aadhaar card, voter ID, driving licence, followed by a valid Indian passport.

Both of them have been booked under sections of Foreigners’ Act 1946, Foreigner’s Order Act and Passports Act (1948) and sections of Passports Act along with cheating and forgery under IPC.