Bangladeshi posing as monk arrested in Nagpur in fake passport case
Bhopal STF arrests Bangladeshi national Joyson Chowdhury, who had hidden in a Nagpur Buddhist monastery disguised as a monk for four months
A team from the Bhopal Special Task Force, which is investigating Bangladeshi nationals living in India on forged documents, carried out a major operation in Nagpur. The team arrested a Bangladeshi national named Joyson Chowdhury, who had been hiding his real identity and living disguised as a monk.
Chowdhury was staying at a Buddhist monastery in the Praveshnagar area under the Yashodharanagar police station limits in Nagpur. He had been living there for the past four months and had not let anyone suspect who he really was. After the arrest, the STF team took him to Gwalior for further questioning.
Joyson Chowdhury is not alone in this case. Around two years ago, cases were registered in Gwalior under various sections against nearly 20 Bangladeshi nationals. During the investigation, the Bhopal STF learnt that Chowdhury was hiding in Nagpur district. It is being said that he was an associate of Palash Barua alias Chowdhury, another Bangladeshi previously caught in Nagpur, and that the entire network was being run through him.
Earlier, Nagpur police had also cracked down on a Regional Passport Officer in Bhopal. That case too had revealed that more than two dozen Bangladeshi nationals were being sent abroad after passports were made for them using forged documents.
As soon as the Bhopal STF learnt that Chowdhury was in Nagpur, it contacted the Nagpur Anti-Terrorism Squad. The STF then caught him with the help of Yashodharanagar police. After completing the necessary formalities at the police station, the team left directly for Gwalior.
In initial questioning, Chowdhury said that around two years ago he had a fake passport made in Vadodara, Gujarat, and used it to reach Madhya Pradesh. The Bhopal STF has already arrested some of his associates in this case. Cases against Bangladeshi nationals were registered in Gwalior on May 1, 2024 under sections relating to fraud and preparing and using forged documents.
Separately, Bangladeshis who had entered India illegally via West Bengal have been caught before as well, but police have so far not been able to deport them.
