Six Bangladeshi nationals were arrested by the Kolkata Police early on Monday for allegedly overstaying their visas and hiding in hotels in the Park Street area of the city.
According to police sources, the six youths had entered India on medical visas last year amid political unrest in Bangladesh. However, they did not return home after their visas expired and instead stayed in different hotels in the Park Street and Colin Street areas while remaining in contact with each other.
Their presence came under suspicion during routine verification of foreign boarders by officers of the Park Street police station. While checking their documents, police found that the visas of all six had expired. Acting on the information, officers conducted a raid at a hotel on Colin Street and arrested them.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Abir Hossain, Mohammad Mamun Rashid, Mohammad Alimun Gazi, Azam Mollah, Faizal Amin and Zaidul Islam. Valid Bangladeshi passports were recovered from each of them. Police said they are aged between 25 and 35 and are residents of the Noakhali and Tangail districts of Bangladesh. Preliminary investigation revealed that all of them are associated with the Awami League.
Among those arrested is singer Azam Mollah, who reportedly requested police to allow him to keep his guitar and even offered to sing after being taken into custody. Police sources said he had been trying to earn money by singing at the homes of acquaintances in the city.
Investigators said the group had entered Kolkata separately and later stayed in different hotels while looking for local work. After their visas expired in January, they allegedly planned to leave Kolkata and seek employment abroad. About a week before their arrest, they checked into a hotel on Colin Street, where police detained them.
The six were produced before the Bankshall Court, which remanded them to custody till February 27. During questioning, they reportedly told police that they did not want to return to Bangladesh. However, police officials said that the push-back process to Bangladesh would begin as per rules after completion of legal proceedings.
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