Gujarat: Ahmedabad Crime Branch busts passport racket for illegal Bangladeshi immigrants

The investigation began with the arrest of a Bangladeshi woman who had secured an Indian passport using fraudulent paperwork. Subsequent probes revealed that three more women had obtained passports using similar forged documentation.

Authorities have initiated legal proceedings against the women, while further investigations have led to the interrogation of four suspected co-conspirators believed to be part of the broader network.

In addition, the police have identified two more passports that were fraudulently acquired, prompting a deeper scrutiny of potentially hundreds of similar cases.

Sources within the department confirmed that over 500 suspicious passports are now under review, amid concerns that a larger syndicate involving agents and facilitators could be operating with a consistent modus operandi.

This development comes in the wake of a massive crackdown on illegal Bangladeshi immigrants by the Gujarat Police.

In a statewide operation, authorities detained over 6,500 suspected illegal immigrants, with more than 800 arrests reported from Ahmedabad alone. One of the largest actions took place in the Chandola Talav area, where the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation carried out a demolition drive against unauthorised settlements.

Around 4,000 illegal structures were razed, clearing approximately 1.5 lakh square meters of encroached government land. The police continue to probe the passport fraud network as part of broader efforts to curb illegal immigration and document forgery.

Government data and independent studies suggest that there could be anywhere between 10 to 20 million Bangladeshi nationals living in India, many of whom have entered the country illegally over the past few decades.

The states most affected by this influx include West Bengal, Assam, Tripura, and parts of the Northeast, along with urban centres like Delhi, Mumbai, and Ahmedabad.

The primary reasons for migration include economic opportunities, better living conditions, and, in some cases, religious or political persecution. The porous border between India and Bangladesh--stretching over 4,000 kilometres--has made it challenging to control illegal crossings.

In recent years, Indian authorities have intensified efforts to identify and deport illegal immigrants through measures like the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam and targeted operations in metropolitan areas.

However, issues related to forged documents, including voter IDs and passports, have complicated the task of identifying undocumented migrants.

The presence of Bangladeshi immigrants continues to be a politically sensitive issue, often influencing public discourse and policy decisions on national security, citizenship, and demographic balance.