JAGATSINGHPUR: Jagatsinghpur police on Saturday arrested Sikandar Alam, main suspect in harbouring illegal Bangladesh nationals by encroaching on government land, from Jajpur.
Alam (40) and his brother Abdul Motalif Khan (38) were arrested from separate locations in Jajpur and Khurda, where they had reportedly been hiding at relatives’ houses. With this, the total number of arrests in connection with this case has gone up to five.
Police took the two to an undisclosed location for interrogation to probe possible international links. Meanwhile, their sister, Badrunisha (30), who is also an accused in the case, is still at large.
Jagatsinghpur police had registered a case on November 17, against five persons, including three women, under multiple sections of the BNS, for encroachment of government land and harbouring suspicious elements. Two women, who are Sikandar’s sisters, were arrested last week.
Police had conducted a raid at Behrampur village under Jagatsinghpur police limits on Sunday (November 16), after receiving information that several Bangladesh nationals were residing there. During verification, authorities allegedly confirmed that Sikandar and his associates sheltered migrants by occupying government land and engaging them in illegal activities. Investigators also suspect that women and girls were trafficked from outside the state and subjected to exploitation.
The police arrested two women in connection with this case on Monday, while Sikandar, Abdul and Badrunisha fled after allegedly assaulting police personnel.
The police also demolished 17 illegal structures erected for the migrants and seized a country-made pistol, five swords, and other weapons from the site.
Police later raided Sikandar’s Dhanipur residence and seized fake Aadhaar cards, bank passbooks, and other documents. Investigation has revealed that Sikandar previously worked in the merchant navy and allegedly maintained international connections in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Balochistan. Police also suspect he holds multiple bank accounts across West Bengal, Chennai and Mumbai.
Jagatsinghpur SP Ankit Kumar Verma confirmed the arrests and said interrogation is in progress from multiple angles. He declined to disclose the exact places from where the accused were picked up.