Bangladeshi model arrest case: Bengal man arrested for managing fake documents

Kolkata, Aug (IANS) The Anti-Rowdy Squad (ARS) of the Kolkata Police have arrested a youth from Naihati in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal on charges of facilitating fake Indian identity documents for Santa Paul, the recently arrested Bangladeshi model.

The person arrested has been identified as Soumik Dutta (36), son of the Late Subinay Chandra Dutta and a resident of North 24 Parganas district. He was arrested at his residence only.

"A youth has been arrested for helping to arrange illegal documents, including fake Indian identity documents, for the Bangladeshi model who was arrested last week. We are investigating his role in helping her stay in the country with illegal documents. More details will be shared later," said an official of the state police on Tuesday.

On July 28, the officers from Park Street police station arrested Santa Paul from a flat in Kolkata's Golf Green area in South Kolkata. The police became suspicious after reviewing the documents she had provided during her passport application. During the arrest, several Bangladeshi documents were recovered from Santa's Golf Green apartment.

It is learnt that Paul, a model by profession, entered India with a valid visa. However, instead of returning before the expiry of her visa, she managed to arrange fake Indian documents like the Aadhaar card and the Voters’ ID card for herself during that interim period.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has already informed the Kolkata Police that Paul's visa expired in 2021, and thereafter, she has been living in the country illegally since then.

With his development, questions have started surfacing on how effective is the surveillance of the Foreigners Registration Office (FRO) in such matters, since as per rule when a foreign national comes to the country, this Central office keeps an eye on whether that person is returning following the expiry of his or her visa period and if a foreigner does not return to their native country, the FRO informs the police.

According to police sources, two cards were found with the same Aadhaar number. One of them has an address in Kolkata, while the other has an address in Burdwan. In addition, a voter card in Santa Paul's name was also found at the Burdwan address.

--IANS

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