Advertisement
An FIR was filed on Sunday under sections 420, 468, and 471 of the Indian Penal Code, as well as sections 12 of the Passport Act and 14 of the Foreigners Act at the IGI Airport police station.
In the initial interrogation, the accused, identified as Apu Barua, confessed to obtaining fake Indian IDs in the fictitious name of Anik Roy through agents in Tripura and Pune two years ago. His motive was to establish himself as a Buddhist Monk and settle in a European country.
Barua also forged a membership letter from a respected Buddhist Gompa association, using it to procure an offer letter from the Spain Buddhist association to obtain a Schengen visa, according to investigators.
Apu Barua managed to reach Germany using the forged documents, but he was apprehended by the authorities there. Subsequently, he was deported to India, as revealed in the preliminary interrogation report, according to a senior police officer.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (IGI Airport) Devesh Kumar Mahla stated, “Several facts emerged during the interrogation of the arrested Bangladeshi national that will be verified by the investigating team.
As far as the Indian IDs that he illegally obtained, our team will make efforts to identify and nab the agents who helped him get the papers. Our investigation is underway.”
Bangladeshi citizen Apu Barua, originally from Chittagong, illegally entered India by crossing the Indo-Bangladesh border from Matiranga in Bangladesh to Sabroom in Tripura on August 11, 2021, according to the police.
After arriving in Tripura, he stayed in a hotel near Indira Gandhi Memorial (IGM) hospital for four to five days, during which an agent helped him obtain a birth certificate, an Aadhaar card, and a Pan card – all in the name of Anik Roy. The agent charged him ₹6,500 for all the documents, the investigators said.
On August 16, 2011, Apu Barua reached Pune via Kolkata, according to the police. For some days, he worked in a hotel and then secured a job as a security guard at a residential society in Shivaji Nagar in Pune.
During his stay in Pune, Barua got in touch with a local agent, identified as Hussain, who helped him change his address in Aadhaar card from Tripura to Pune. Thereafter, he procured an Indian passport, the police said.
“Given that Barua is a Bangladeshi Chakma tribal following Buddhism, he opted to impersonate a Buddhist monk to leave for any European country and settle there. He registered with a Gompa association and adopted a monk’s attire.
Over several months, Barua traveled to Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam to create a travel history as a monk. Ultimately, he forged a membership letter of a Gompa association and used it to obtain a Schengen visa, enabling him to reach Germany,” the officer explained.
The police are scrutinizing Barua’s travel history to determine when and from where he departed for Germany and the countries he visited in between. His past background will also be verified through the relevant agencies.
