Bangladeshi woman who entered India in 2009 held with husband for illegal stay in ‘Steel City’ Bhilai

RAIPUR: A special task force (STF) constituted to act against illegal immigrants has arrested a Bangladeshi woman and her husband from Bhilai. The woman, identified as Shahida Khatoon alias Jyoti, and her husband, Mohammed Rasel Sheikh, were residing in the ‘Steel City’ Bhilai’s Supela area by concealing their original identities after illegally crossing the India-Bangladesh border upon the expiry of their visa. The couple had allegedly prepared fake documents to hide their identities, including Aadhaar cards, PAN cards, voter ID cards, and bank passbooks in the names of Jyoti and Rasel Sheikh, which they used for fraudulent purposes. Investigations revealed that they were in constant touch with their relatives in Bangladesh through internet calls and WhatsApp. Police have registered a case against the woman and her husband under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, the Foreigners Act 1946, the Indian Passport Act 1967, and the Passport (Entry into India) Act 1920. Superintendent of Police, Durg, Vijay Agrawal stated that a Special Task Force (STF) was formed to identify and take action against illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya immigrants residing in the region and initiate the process of their repatriation. Acting on information received on May 16, the STF raided a house in Contractor Colony, Supela, where the couple was suspected to be residing under false identities. During initial questioning, the woman and her husband claimed their names were Jyoti and Rasel Sheikh, residents of Mominpur village in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. They stated they had lived in Navi Mumbai-Thane from 2009 to 2017 and then moved to Bhilai in 2017 for work. They produced Aadhaar cards in the names of Jyoti Rasel Sheikh and Rasel Sheikh, which appeared suspicious upon verification. Upon further interrogation, they disclosed their real identities as Shahida Khatoon, 35, and Mohammed Rasel Sheikh, 36, residents of Bala village, Raghunathnagar post, Jessore district, Bangladesh. The investigation revealed that Shahida Khatoon illegally entered India through the Bonga border in North 24 Parganas, West Bengal, in 2009. She then went to Mumbai via Howrah, where she met Mohammed Rasel while working. They returned to Bangladesh, where they allegedly planned to change Shahida Khatoon's name to Jyoti and got married. In 2017, they entered India with passports and Indian visas. Jyoti Rasel Sheikh’s visa expired on September 13, 2018, and Mohammed Rasel Sheikh’s visa expired on April 12, 2020. While residing in Kopargaon, Navi Mumbai-Thane, the couple allegedly conspired to create fake birth dates and conceal their real names to obtain fraudulent Aadhaar and PAN cards in the names of Jyoti Rasel Sheikh and Rasel Sheikh. Subsequently, they moved to Bhilai for work. In 2020, a case was registered against Jyoti Rasel Sheikh alias Shahida Khatoon and Rasel Sheikh in Durg district under the Foreigners Act, the Indian Passport Act, and various sections of the Indian Penal Code for residing in India without valid documents. The accused further manipulated the addresses on the fake PAN and Aadhaar cards prepared in Navi Mumbai-Thane to reflect an address in Ambedkar Nagar Contractor Colony, Bhilai, to conceal their Bangladeshi origin. Using these forged documents, they obtained fake PAN cards, voter ID cards, and opened accounts in various banks in Bhilai. The police have registered a case against Shahida Khatoon alias Jyoti Rasel Sheikh and Mohammed Rasel Sheikh under sections 318(4), 319(2), 336(3), and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Section 14 of the Foreigners Act 1946, Section 12 of the Passport Act 1967, and Section 3 of the Passport (Entry into India) Act 1920. They were formally arrested on 16 May 2025 after sufficient evidence was found against them. The entire operation was led by City Superintendent of Police (CSP) Satya Prakash Tiwari, in-charge of the STF, along with Inspector Rajesh Mishra, Inspector Vijay Yadav (Station House Officer, Supela), and their teams, as well as Sub-Inspectors Ramesh Sinha, Pankaj Chaturvedi, and Santosh Gupta of the STF.