Nagpur: The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) recently apprehended a Bangladeshi national who had been residing illegally in Nagpur for over a decade. This individual not only lived in the city without proper documentation but was also involved in a sophisticated operation to procure Indian passports for fellow Bangladeshi nationals, as reported by a local English daily.
According to the report, the accused entered India in the guise of a Buddhist monk and later became a gym trainer in Nagpur. Identified as Palash Bipan Baruva (40), he had been residing illegally in the Pivali River area of Teka in North Nagpur. The official said that Baruva’s illegal activities came to light when two Bangladeshi nationals, Maitri Baruva and Ankon Baruva, were apprehended at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad, attempting to fly abroad using Indian passports.
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Wednesday 15 Jan. 2025
Further investigations revealed that these passports had been fraudulently obtained through fabricated identity proofs supplied by Baruva. The secret operation, which spanned over a month, was initiated by the ATS Nagpur as they closely monitored Baruva’s activities. Currently working as a gym trainer in the Jaripatka area, Baruva had managed to evade law enforcement agencies for years after first crossing the Indian border in the guise of a Buddhist monk. His early years in India were spent in various Buddha Vihars in Nagpur.
According to the police sources, Baruva crossed the border before 2010 and initially resided near the Pivali River, where he posed as a Buddhist monk for a year. Subsequently, he shifted to a Buddha Vihar in Kamptee, where he stayed for nearly 3-4 years. In due course, Baruva transitioned his life into an ordinary citizen, taking up a gym trainer’s job and even developing a romantic relationship.
During this period, he also travelled to Thailand. Investigation unearthed the shocking fact that Baruva was operating a complex network involved in the issuance of Indian passports to Bangladeshi nationals. Even while residing in Nagpur, he maintained active connections with his associates in Bangladesh. Over the past decade, many Bangladeshis crossed over into India and came to Nagpur by illegally obtaining Indian residence documents and passports through Baruva’s network.
Late on Friday night, a case under Sections 420, 463, 467 and 468 of the IPC was registered.
