In a significant crackdown on illegal immigration, the Mumbai Crime Branch Unit 11 has arrested a couple for allegedly running a racket that provided forged Indian identity documents to Bangladeshi nationals living illegally in India. The accused have been identified as Purushottam Prasad Sharma (57) and his wife Manju Sharma alias Manju alias Altaf Shaikh (42), residents of Malad (West).
Acting on a tip-off, a police team raided their residence in Sai Savli Cooperative Housing Society, New MHADA Colony, and uncovered a trove of forged documents and digital equipment. The items seized include a laptop, four mobile phones with SIM cards, forged Aadhaar and PAN cards, a voter ID, bank passbooks, cheque books, and a red-coloured pen drive suspected to contain sensitive data related to the racket.
According to officials, the couple was involved in fabricating Aadhaar cards, PAN cards, voter IDs, and bank documents, which were then used by illegal Bangladeshi immigrants to falsely claim Indian identity and settle in the country. Investigations revealed that Manju Sharma is originally a Bangladeshi citizen who entered India illegally around 12 years ago with the help of an agent. She later married Sharma, who allegedly helped her obtain fake Indian identification documents.
“Their modus operandi included using false credentials to create government-issued identity cards and opening bank accounts. These documents enabled illegal immigrants to access services meant for Indian citizens,” a senior Crime Branch official said.
The racket reportedly had links to agents operating in Bangladesh, with police retrieving transaction records and call data suggesting international connections. Officials suspect a broader cross-border and interstate network facilitating illegal immigration through document forgery.
Both accused were arrested on Saturday and have been booked under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (Sections 318(4), 336(2), 336(3), 338, 340(2), 61(2), 249, 3(5)) along with provisions of the Passport Act, Foreigners Act, and Foreigners Order. They were produced before a court and remanded to police custody.
The Crime Branch is now expanding its probe to identify other agents and individuals connected to the network, as authorities reaffirm their commitment to curbing threats to national security posed by such illegal operations.
