Delhi Police bust illegal Bangladeshi immigration racket, arrest 11

New Delhi: With the arrest of 11 people, Delhi Police on Tuesday claimed to have unearthed a gang involved in illegal immigration of Bangladeshi nationals.

Among those arrested, four are Bangladeshi citizens and the rest were allegedly involved in making forged documents, an official said.

"The gang was busted when our team tracked down four people involved in a murder case in Sangam Vihar on October 21," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Ankit Chauhan.

The Bangladeshi nationals – Midul Miyan alias Akash Ahmed and Fardeen Ahmed alias Abhi Ahmed along with their wives – were arrested and interrogated in connection with the murder of Sentu Seikh alias Raja.

"During interrogation, the accused revealed that Sentu, who lived in their neighbourhood, used to bully them over minor issues. Further investigations showed that the accused had entered India illegally and had been residing in Sangam Vihar for several years," the officer said.

They were found in possession of Bangladeshi ID cards (chip-based NID cards) and birth certificates. Around 21 Aadhar cards, four voter ID cards, and eight PAN cards were also recovered from the victim's residence.

A team led by Inspectors Umesh Yadav and Umesh Sharma, under the supervision of ACPs Abhinendera Jain and Niraj Tokas, was formed to conduct a thorough probe into the illegal immigration issue, Chauhan said.

Further questioning of the accused led to the arrest of Sahil Sehgal, 26, who ran a "Poonam Online Computer Centre" in Rohini Sector 5. It was found that the centre was involved in preparing Aadhaar cards and other documents using fake IDs. Sehgal revealed that he was approached by illegal Bangladeshi immigrants through the deceased Sentu Seikh alias Raja, according to the police.

"Sahil used the fake website 'Jantaprints.site' to generate fraudulent birth certificates and sent them to his associate Ranjit for Aadhaar card processing," the officer said.

Ranjit, a resident of Sector 7 in Rohini, worked with Afroz, 25, an authorised Aadhaar operator at Karnataka Bank in Rohini Sector 5. Using fake birth certificates, Afroz facilitated the creation of Aadhaar cards.

Ranjit and Afroz were arrested, and investigations revealed that the "Jantaprints.site" offered fake documents, including birth certificates, matriculation certificates, caste certificates, COVID certificates, and income certificates, at nominal prices starting from Rs 7, the officer said.

Payments for these documents were made via Paytm QR codes linked to a number registered under Mohammad Chand. Based on technical surveillance, Mohammad Chand, 28, from Uttam Nagar, was arrested from Vikas Nagar, Delhi. He confessed to retaining a 2 per cent commission and transferring the remaining amount to Saddam Hussain.

Saddam Hussain, 33, from Uttam Nagar, was arrested, leading to the discovery that the "Jantaprints.site" was operated by his associate, Deepak Mishra. Saddam transferred the payments to Deepak Mishra, retaining a 2 per cent share for himself.

Further questioning revealed that the accused initially created Aadhaar cards showing ages under 18, as such cards were easier to process at multiple centres in Delhi. Cards for individuals over 18 were limited to just four centres in Delhi.

Technical surveillance led to Deepak Mishra, 34, from Uttam Nagar, being apprehended in Ambala and arrested after sustained interrogation. He disclosed that his brother-in-law, Sonu Kumar, developed the "Jantaprints.site." Sonu Kumar, 31, was arrested from Noida, where he admitted to learning how to create fake websites via YouTube. He also created "Portalwale.com" and "Portalwale.online" for creating fake ID documents.

Sonu Kumar runs a cyber café in Noida, the police said, adding that further investigations are on.