Four people have been arrested in connection with a human trafficking racket in which Bangladeshi women were being brought into India illegally, a Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad official said. The modus operandi was to get nationals from that country into India through the open border or by cutting barbed wire fencing, after which they would obtain Aadhaar identity cards in West Bengal fraudulently, the official said.

"These people would then spread out into various cities of India, obtain more documents fraudulently and finally manage to get Indian passports made in their names. We have arrested three Bangladeshi nationals, including a 17-year-old girl. Of these, accused Kajal Sheikh has already managed to get herself an Indian passport," the official was quoted by Indian news agencies as saying.

Mumbai resident Santosh Varne, who claims to be a passport agent for the past 8-10 years, was arrested for supplying these people with forged civic documents, school certificates etc, the official said.

He said one Sardar Shaikh alias Monjil Mondal, a resident of Sindhrani in Bangaon in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas, was the kingpin of the racket. He  is said to be a repeat offender, with four cases against his name, including for offences like cutting border fencing and human trafficking, the official said, adding that efforts were on to catch him.

(SAM)