With lakhs of migrant workers employed across Kerala, identifying those who have entered the country illegally remains a major challenge for the police.
Language similarities, forged identity documents and the mobility of the migrant workforce often make it difficult to distinguish between genuine workers and undocumented immigrants. However, sometimes, a small detail can trigger suspicion and set off a chain of events that ultimately exposes the truth.
That is what happened recently in Ernakulam, when a prison visit by a migrant worker led police to uncover a Bangladeshi national who had been illegally living in the state for about two years.
The man first came under the radar of the Special Branch after he visited two Bangladeshi nationals lodged in the subjail. The visit raised suspicions among intelligence officers, who were tracking individuals linked to the arrested foreigners.
The man told officers that he was visiting the prisoners because they used to stay together in the same locality. But the explanation failed to convince investigators.
“We had our doubts from the beginning,” an officer says. “Though he insisted that he was from West Bengal, certain aspects of his responses and behaviour raised suspicion.”
Special Branch officers began quietly tracking his movements. Sleuths scanned his workplace in plainclothes.
“We wanted to confirm his identity and check whether other Bangladeshi nationals were working there under disguise,” says another officer.
A search of the room where he was staying provided the breakthrough. Officers recovered a Bangladeshi passport from the premises.
“During questioning, he admitted that he was a Bangladeshi national who had entered India on a tourist visa and later travelled to Kerala,” says an officer who was part of the operation. “Instead of returning after the visa expired, he continued to stay here and found work among migrant labourers.”
The man had been living in the state for about two years without attracting attention.
Officers say such cases are not uncommon. In fact, identifying Bangladeshi nationals living undocumented in Kerala has become increasingly challenging in recent years.
Last year, during a special drive conducted in January, the police detected around 27 Bangladeshi nationals from various parts of Ernakulam district.
“Many of them manage to obtain forged Aadhaar cards, making it extremely difficult to identify them,” says an officer.
Earlier, many immigrants relied on fake Aadhaar cards, which were relatively easy to detect. “Now most of them have agents who help obtain genuine Aadhaar cards,” the officer adds. “After entering the country, they are taken to border states where agents arrange temporary accommodation and prepare supporting documents. Using these documents and rental agreements, they apply for Aadhaar.”
Since such Aadhaar cards are obtained through UIDAI, they often appear genuine during routine checks, creating complications for law enforcement agencies.
“Even if we question them, they produce Aadhaar cards that appear authentic in the system,” the officer explained. “That makes the investigation more complicated.”
In the above case of the man recently arrested in Ernakulam, officers say he had not yet obtained such documents. Investigators believe that if he had destroyed his Bangladeshi passport and secured an Aadhaar card through forged documents, he might have escaped detection for much longer.
Another senior officer points out that technological changes have also made surveillance more difficult.
“Earlier, we were able to track many suspects through their phone calls,” he says. “But now most of them rely on end-to-end encrypted internet calls, which makes it harder to trace communications.”
Some factories and small establishments are also suspected of knowingly hiring such immigrants. “In many cases, employers prefer them because they accept smaller wages and rarely complain,” the officer says.
For the police, however, the recent arrest demonstrates how a seemingly routine event — a visit to a jail — can sometimes expose a hidden trail.
“A small lead is often enough,” the officer says. “In this case, a prison visit led us to someone who had been living here illegally for about two years.”