Kolkata, May 27 (IANS) The police have arrested three Bangladeshi infiltrators from the Baruipur police station area of South 24 Parganas district for illegally entering India and living in the state, police said on Wednesday.

Among them, a Bangladeshi woman has made an explosive claim that a local Trinamool Congress (TMC) Panchayat member took money from them by promising to arrange Aadhaar cards.

Police personnel from the Mallikpur outpost of Baruipur police station conducted a raid in the area after receiving a tip-off from a secret source. A Bangladeshi couple was arrested during the raid. The arrested persons have been identified as Shafiqul Islam Mollah and his wife, Monira Begum.

Initial police investigation revealed that their home is in Chaluhati village, under Nengur Bazar Post Office, Manirampur Police Station, Jessore district, Bangladesh.

Investigators claimed that the couple illegally crossed the India-Bangladesh border through a ring of brokers. After crossing the border, they settled in the Mallikpur area under the Baruipur police station in the South 24 Parganas district.

Police have started a detailed investigation into how they managed to stay locally, where they worked, and how long they had been residing in the area.

Police said that after crossing the border and entering India, they were trying to settle permanently in the area with the help of some local people. Investigators suspect that they were also attempting to obtain Indian identity documents.

The arrested persons are being interrogated to ascertain their purpose for entering India, the role of the broker network, and their local contacts.

However, Monira Begum’s allegations have added a new dimension to the incident. After being detained by police, she claimed that they had approached a local public representative to arrange identity documents.

Monira Begum alleged that Shahjahan Sardar, a Trinamool Congress member of the Mallikpur Gram Panchayat within the Baruipur West Assembly constituency, took Rs 5,000 from them with the assurance that he would arrange Aadhaar cards.

She said that identity documents were necessary for local residency and that they had approached him for this purpose.

It has been alleged that although Shahjahan Sardar accepted the money with the promise of facilitating the Aadhaar cards, no work was subsequently carried out. Monira Begum claimed that despite contacting him on multiple occasions, she received no satisfactory response.

Now in police custody, she has demanded an investigation into the accused Panchayat member and sought appropriate punishment.

However, Monira Begum’s allegations have not yet been officially verified. According to police sources, the complaint lodged by the arrested woman is currently being examined. No response has been received from the Trinamool Congress leader.

Meanwhile, police also arrested a Bangladeshi woman from Beniyadanga in the Hariharpur area of Baruipur. The arrested woman has been identified as Lakin Tanti (39). Her husband’s name is Ziaur Rahman Tati.

Police are investigating how she entered India and how long she had been residing in the area. Whether she possessed any valid documents is also under investigation.

It is learnt that Shafiqul Islam Mollah and Monira Begum were sent to the Baruipur holding centre late on Tuesday night. Lakin Tanti, who was arrested in Hariharpur, is also being questioned.

Police are now trying to ascertain whether there was any link between the three arrested persons or whether they entered India through the same broker network.

Superintendent of Police of Baruipur Police District, Shuvendu Kumar, said: “On Tuesday, after receiving information from secret sources, we conducted raids in various places under Baruipur Police District and arrested three people on charges of illegally entering West Bengal from Bangladesh and residing there.”

He added that police had obtained “some sensational information” during interrogation of the arrested persons and that all aspects of the matter were under investigation.

“Due to the progress of the investigation, nothing can be made public at this time,” he said.

–IANS

sch/dan