The city police may well have to work overtime to nab the Bangladeshi nationals residing illegally in the city and send them back to their native country. But, a Bangladeshi national can get his or her entry to India by paying a mere Rs150-250 to the Border Security Force (BSF) personnel. What's more, they can reach Mumbai or any other city in India by paying another Rs4,000-5,000 to some agents operating in West Bengal, a Bangladeshi national informed the police. "Almost 99% of the Bangladeshis we arrested in last one-and-a-half-year came to Mumbai through such agents. While many of them coordinated with these agents from Bangladesh itself, some paid them after reaching India. At times, these agents also take the responsibility of bringing them to India from their native places," said Gajanand Pawar, assistant police inspector from Navi Mumbai crime branch.
"These brokers are suspected to be hand-in-glove with the BSF personnels. They reportedly bring people from Bangladesh in groups at night and pay the BSF. Once these people reach West Bengal, they get railway tickets to send them to Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai or any other city of the country. We are investing the matter, but have not been able to arrest any of the agents so far, as they hardly come to the city," Pawar said.
According to Pawar, many Bangladeshi nationals also get Indian documents like PAN card, passport, among others, in the 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. "It is very difficult to take action against such Bangladeshis, if they manage to source Indian documents," he said.
If sources are to be believed, several Bangladeshis are still working at many places in the satellite city like Kharghar, Kamothe, Kalamboli, Khandeshwar, Turbhe, Rabale, Taloja, and the interior areas of Panvel. The agents are providing these people to the private companies as these people are ready to work for a lower wages as compared to the Indian labourers. While the males work in private companies and the construction sites as labourers, women go to various families to work as domestic helps. "Many Bangladeshis are also involved in carrying fake currency notes to Mumbai from West Bengal. It is very difficult to find out from where they get these fake notes. We have arrested many people in connection with such crimes, but have not been able to recover any printing machine," said Nitin Patil, assistant police inspector, from crime branch.
KL Prasad, Navi Mumbai police commissioner said, "If media reports are to be believed, some of our neighbouring countries are helping these culprits in circulating fake currency notes in India. Bangladeshis are a bigger threat than Nigerians as it is difficult to identify the Bangladeshis because of their physical resemblance with our own citizens."
"There has been a demographic change in many places near the Indo-Bangla border because of this cross-country migration. These people are coming to Mumbai and Navi Mumbai as they are getting works in the construction sites. We will have to ensure that no foreign nationals get a chance to work and stay in the city without proper documents," he said.
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