Married to UP man for 30 years, Bangladeshi national held after applying for passport

Deorania Station House Officer (SHO) Devendra Singh Dhama said the woman, identified as Anita Devi, has been booked under Section 14 of the Foreigners Act and an investigation into the case is going on.

Other charges will be invoked based on the investigation, the official said.

During the initial investigation, it came to light that the woman entered India illegally from Bangladesh over 30 years ago and married Mangal Sen, a farmer from Udaipur village in Bareilly district, and has been living there ever since.

“Locals thought the woman was from West Bengal,” said SHO Dhama.

Mangal and Anita have five children, three of whom are adults, it is learnt.

It was nearly two months ago that she applied for a passport to visit her family in Bangladesh. “In the passport application, she mentioned her permanent address as that of Bangladesh. This came to light during the scrutiny of the application,” said SHO Dhama.

After further inquiry, it was established that the woman is a native of Bangladesh and had been living in India illegally.

The case was registered against her at the Deorania police station on Monday.