Cops arrest 2 for helping Bangladeshi model Shanta Pal get forged documents

Kolkata: Two people have been arrested by Kolkata Police from Naihati and East Burdwan for allegedly assisting Bangladeshi model Shanta Pal in preparing forged documents.

Pal, a Bangladeshi national, was arrested last month from the Bikramgarh area where she was residing.

Pal, reportedly a model and former crew member of a Bangladeshi airline, is believed to have arrived in Kolkata a few years ago and never returned to her home country. She initially managed to find accommodation in the Park Street area. While staying there, she allegedly procured a ration card through a broker. Using the ration card, she later rented a room in the Bikramgarh area of Jadavpur.

After settling there, Pal reportedly reconnected with the broker and obtained both an Aadhaar card and a voter ID card.

She then applied for an Indian passport. During a verification process, Pal was called in for questioning by the police, and when asked for her birth certificate, she failed to produce one. She also could not give satisfactory answers when questioned about her family members.

After a thorough inquiry about Pal, police found that her documents were forged. Accordingly, a case was registered against her. She was later arrested.

During interrogation, police found that a youth, identified as Soumik Dutta, of Naihati in North 24-Parganas, had helped her procure the forged documents.

After interrogating Dutta, the police on Tuesday afternoon arrested another person, identified as Sheikh Momtajuddin, from his residence in Memari of East Burdwan. It is alleged that he had prepared the voter card and Aadhaar card for Pal.

It may be mentioned that police, during her arrest, had found several incriminating documents with separate addresses.