Kolkata, Nov 13 (IANS) In the aftermath of the car bomb blast in Delhi, Kolkata Police has began special surveillance in the city. The police are trying to identify citizens of Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, who have not returned to their home countries even after the expiry of their visas.

Police sources on Thursday said that officers are now looking into whether any residents of these three countries are hiding somewhere in Kolkata or in the far-flung districts.

At the same time, the detectives of Kolkata Police and the state have also started investigating the old sleeper cells of various militant organisations. The city police headquarters have alerted the officers in this regard after the Delhi bomb blast which claimed 12 lives.

Sources said, every police station and officers have been asked to keep a watch on the residents of Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan who came to the state with valid passports but did not return home after their visas expired. Based on that information, the immigration department has also started investigating this matter.

Police detectives said that in many cases, it has been seen that the visas of the residents who came into India on Bangladeshi and Afghanistan passports have expired. But after that, they hide in the interiors of the state without informing the police.

It is learnt that many of these people made fake Indian identity cards with the help of brokers and introduced themselves as Indian citizens to employers in order to live in the country. Intelligence officials stated that foreigners hiding as Indian citizens is a matter of big concern.

“Many Bangladeshis hiding in this way have already been caught by Kolkata and state police. Recently, Kolkata police arrested three Afghans from south Kolkata on charges of hiding in this country with fake identity cards. Similarly, detectives have not ruled out the possibility of any Pakistani nationals hiding in Kolkata or any other district,” said a police source.

The police are of the opinion that there is a possibility that some of those foreign nationals are associated with some militant organisation.

Sources said, after making a list of those foreign nationals, the police are trying to find out where they might be hiding. In the last few years, several militants have been arrested by the Intelligence officers from in and around Kolkata.

Efforts are being made to find out whether those old sleeper cells of various militant organisations have become active again. In addition, the police said that the activities of members of the militant organisations who have been released on bail and sentenced are also being monitored.

–IANS

sch/rad