2 Bangladeshi women arrested in Mumbai for illegal re-entry months after deportation

Mumbai Police have arrested two Bangladeshi women in separate cases for illegally re-entering India months after being deported, raising concerns over border infiltration and possible organised networks facilitating such movements.

In the first case, a 38-year-old woman, identified as Zulekha Jamal Sheikh, was arrested on Tuesday near the Gateway of India. Acting on a tip-off, police detained her after she failed to produce any valid travel documents. A case was registered under the Foreigners Act.

During questioning, Sheikh said she was living on a footpath in the Kamathipura area and admitted that she had been deported in August and handed over to Bangladeshi authorities. She later re-entered India illegally through forest routes along the India-Bangladesh border. Her original address was traced to Jashore district in Bangladesh.

In the second case, police arrested 30-year-old Bilkis Begum Sirmiya Akhtar from the Cuffe Parade area. She was found residing in a rented room without any valid passport or visa and initially gave evasive responses during interrogation.

Further questioning revealed that Akhtar had also been deported in August but managed to re-enter India illegally. A mobile phone seized from her possession contained a Bangladeshi national identity card and related photographs, which were taken as digital evidence.

Separate FIRs have been registered against both women under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Foreigners Act. Police are now investigating how the women managed to cross the border again and whether any organised network assisted their illegal re-entry.