Pune Crime Files: Crackdown on illegal Bangladeshi migrants ‘supporting’ members of Al-Qaeda-affiliated terror group

The ATS alleged that the suspects were in constant touch with the members of the ABT terror outfit and provided them with logistic support. The ATS recovered Indian identity documents like Aadhaar, PAN and voting cards from the three accused, which they had procured by submitting forged papers and impersonating themselves as Indian nationals at government offices like Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).

An FIR was lodged against the trio under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections for forgery and criminal conspiracy, along with sections of the Passport Act, the Foreigners Act and the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

The ATS initiated a probe into a systematic network of bringing Bangladeshis illegally into India, helping them get Indian nationality documents and employment, mainly on construction sites and using the illegal migrants for harbouring ABT terrorists.

During the investigation, the Pune ATS unit on March 19, 2018, arrested two more Bangladeshi nationals — Mohammed Azarali Subhanalla Islam alias Raja Jesub Mandal and Mohammad Hassanali Mohammed Amirali, 32 — then residing at a construction site in Mahad of the Raigad district.

In May 2018, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over the probe into this case from ATS. The probe revealed that the five penetrated illegally into India by crossing the India – Bangladesh border without any valid documents in 2007, 2012, and 2014 and fraudulently obtained Indian ID proofs and documents. The NIA filed a chargesheet against the five accused on September 7, 2018.

Charges were framed against the five accused on April 22, 2019. Special public prosecutor Nandkishor Rathod said Rubel and Mohammed Amirali were charged under sections of the IPC and Foreigners Act. “The other three against whom the trial is still on were charged under the UAPA as well for their association with ABT members,” Rathod said.

All accused had then pleaded not guilty. But after the trial of this case commenced and 44 witnesses were examined, Rubel and Amirali filed applications pleading guilty to their charges in 2022. The court had then rejected their applications. But the duo appealed before the Bombay High Court, which directed them to file fresh applications and ordered the trial court to decide them expeditiously.

In their fresh pleas, Rubel and Amirali said they had entered India illegally to find employment and regretted their action as it was against the law.

The court accepted their pleas, stating that they were pleading guilty “without any reservations or excuses and throwing themselves at the mercy of the court”. The defence lawyer sought minimum punishment for the duo, saying they were poor labourers, had been in jail for five years and could not pay a fine. The prosecution sought a maximum sentence for the accused, claiming they were involved in “serious offences against the nation”.

The court considered the period undergone by them in jail as their punishment. The trial against the remaining three accused is pending before the court.

Recent arrests and rescues of Bangladeshi nationals from Pune

On October 14, the Pune city police arrested four alleged Bangladeshi nationals from Devachi Uruli near Hadapsar and also booked their family members. The police said they came to India illegally in the last few years and procured Indian ID proofs. A probe is on to know whether any of these suspects have links with extremist activities.

Also, 33 Bangladeshi nationals, including women, have been arrested from the red light area of Pune since September 1. Officials said they were found to be involved in prostitution and other small works in the Budhwar Peth area. In the past one-and-a-half months, the Pune police rescued three Bangladeshi girls, including two minors, who were brought to India illegally on the pretext of giving them jobs and medical treatment but later forced into prostitution.