Bangladeshi woman gets 14 months in jail for illegal stay in India

Thane: A court in Maharashtra’s Thane district has convicted a 36-year-old Bangladeshi woman for illegally staying in India and sentenced her to imprisonment for 14 months and 28 days.

In the order of February 27, a copy of which was made available on Saturday, Additional Sessions Judge Vasudha L Bhosale also directed that the woman, Taniya Yunus Shaikh, who has already spent the duration of the sentence in jail, be deported.

During the trial, Additional Public Prosecutor R P Patil told the court that Shaikh was found to be living in Mira Road (East), on the outskirts of Mumbai, without a valid passport or visa.

The court noted that the burden of proof, as per the Foreigners Act, lies upon the accused to establish their nationality.

“The accused has no permanent or temporary address in India and failed to provide any valid proof of Indian nationality. She herself admitted during the inquiry that she is a Bangladeshi citizen. There is no reason to disbelieve the testimonies of the investigating officer and the complainant,” the judge said in the order.

After considering the arguments from the prosecution and defence, the court sentenced Shaikh to 14 months and 18 days of imprisonment, which she has served since her arrest on December 9, 2023, and ordered her deportation.

Additionally, she was fined Rs 1,000. If she fails to pay the fine, she will have to serve one month of rigorous imprisonment, the court said.