BERHAMPUR: A 57-year-old Bangladeshi national illegally residing in the country for the last 34 years, was arrested from Kotagarh in Kandhamal district recently.
Police said the accused, identified as Nazir Mulla, was apprehended on Saturday. He had been staying in Kotagarh by claiming as an Indian citizen. Acting on reliable information, the cops raided a house in Munda street and nabbed him.
During interrogation, Nazir revealed he had entered the country illegally through the West Bengal-Bangladesh border back in 1991. After a few days, he reached Cuttack in search of work.
However, he couldn’t find employment following which he moved to G Udaygiri in Kandhamal. Later in 2008, he shifted base to Kotagarh and earned his living by working as a street vendor. Eventually, he married a local girl and has three children, police said.
During verification, police found that his birth certificate names him as Nazir Mulla, son of Abul Mulla, a resident of Chaubaria village under Mohammadpur police station in Magura district of Bangladesh. “Nazir possesses a fake Indian voter ID card, Aadhaar card, passport and an Indian visa,” said Kotagarh IIC Anand Chandra Patra.
He was produced in the Kotagarh JMFC court on Sunday and remanded in jail custody. Police have also informed their counterpart in Cuttack to gather more information.