Bangladeshi claiming to be ex-BNP leader arrested in Kolkata with fake documents

A Bangladeshi National, who claimed to be a former leader of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), was arrested with fake identity cards by the Kolkata Police from a guest house in central Kolkata on Friday night.
Police said that the accused identified himself as Rabi Sharma. Interrogation, however, revealed that his name was Selim Matabbar.
“During preliminary questioning he claimed that he was a local leader of the BNP from Bangladesh’s Madaripur area and had fled to India from Bangladesh around a year ago following a political dispute with the Awami League. We are verifying his statements,” said a police official.
The Indian passport he holds mentions that his name is Ravi Sharma, 40 and that he is a resident of Jaipur in Rajasthan. The passport was issued from Delhi in April this year. His Aadhaar card was issued from Nadia district in West Bengal.
The accused has told the police that he illegally entered India almost a year back and has been hopping from one place to another. He has been to Kolkata earlier also and had stayed in guest houses and hotels.
“He used to come and stay in our guest house. He submitted Aadhaar card and passport. We didn’t suspect anything,” said an employee of the guest house on Marquis Street.
This comes at a time when the Indo-Bangladesh relations has become strained with the two neighbours accusing each other over the arrest of a Hindu priest in Bangladesh on charges of sedition.
The incident has triggered a political slugfest between the ruling-Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal and its arch rival the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“Only one case has come to light. There are thousands like him. Barasat in North 24 Parganas is the hub of making such fake documents. Some local leaders who are associated with the ruling TMC are involved in this racket,” Samik Bhattacharya, BJP Rajya Sabha member, told the media.
“Neither passport nor Visa are given by the state governments. They are issued by the centre. What can one possibly do if someone makes a document with fake documents? The police have already arrested him. It is being investigated how and where from he procured the passport and Aadhaar card,” Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, state agriculture minister, told media persons.
Bangladesh witnessed a massive political turmoil and violent protest led by student organisations in August this year. Former prime minister Sheikh Hasina had to step down on August 5 and fled to India following the collapse of the Awami League-administration. An interim government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took over.
The Indo-Bangladesh border in West Bengal is the longest and one of the most porous international borders in any state across the country. Out of the 4096.7 km long Indo-Bangla border in India, West Bengal alone shares 2216 km with the neighbouring country. In south Bengal, the border is more than 900 km long out which nearly 60% is riverine.