RPF detains 14 Bangladeshis with fake documents

Jalpaiguri: The Railway Protection Force (RPF) detained 14 Bangladeshi nationals from the Delhi-bound North East Kamakhya–Anand Vihar Express at Jalpaiguri Road railway station, ahead of the Assembly elections in Assam and West Bengal.

Acting on a tip-off, RPF personnel conducted a search operation when the train halted at the station. The train was briefly held as officials checked the general coaches, leading to the detention of the group comprising men, women and children.

During the operation, officials recovered suspected fake Aadhaar and PAN cards, along with mobile phones and foreign currency, including Bangladeshi and Malaysian notes.

Verification attempts of the Aadhaar numbers did not yield valid records, strengthening suspicions of forgery.

According to preliminary findings, the detainees had boarded the train from Kamakhya and were travelling to Delhi. They are believed to be residents of different districts in Bangladesh, including Gopalganj, Khulna and Bagerhat.

“They had boarded the train from Kamakhya and were headed to Delhi. We are also investigating whether they had plans to move further to Jammu and Kashmir,” said RPF officer Biplab Dutta.

The detainees are being interrogated to ascertain their route of entry into Northeast India and the purpose of their journey. They were produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s Court in Jalpaiguri on Thursday and remanded to 14 days of judicial custody under the

Foreigners Act.