ED chargesheets Pakistani man for creating fake IDs for Bangladeshis in India
The Enforcement Directorate has filed a chargesheet under the anti-money laundering law against a Pakistani man, living as an Indian in Kolkata, after illegally procuring as many as five vital government IDs, including Aadhaar, voter card and passport.He was laundering funds by making "fake" Indian IDs for Bangladeshis who came to India and through other illegal activities like hawala, the federal probe agency said in a statement on Monday.advertisementThe ED said it submitted the prosecution complaint against the man named Ajad Mallik alias Ahammed Hossain Azad and Azad Hossain before a special Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA) court in Kolkata on June 13.
The court has taken note against the "Pakistani national" and fixed a date for hearing, it said.The ED, which carried out raids in this case in April, had then said in a press statement that Mallik was a Bangladeshi national. It arrested Mallik under the anti-money laundering law and the probe brought to light that he was indeed a Pakistani national.The ED case stems from a West Bengal Police FIR against Mallik and unidentified others for violation of the Foreigners Act of 1946."Probe found that the man was a Pakistani national illegally living in India," the ED statement said.advertisementA Pakistani driving licence dating back to 1994 was recovered from his mobile phone bearing the name Azad Hossain and featuring the photograph of Ajad Mallik alias Ahammed Hossain Azad. It listed his father's name as Mumtaz-Ul-Haque and a permanent address in Pakistan," the ED said.It said the driving licence recorded his date of birth as August 14, 1971, and it was issued by the licencing authority in Hyderabad, Pakistan.In order to "conceal" his true identity, the ED said, the man adopted the alias "Ajad Mallik" and procured multiple Indian identity documents like Aadhaar, PAN (permanent account number issued by the income-tax department) card, driving licence, voter ID and passport by submitting "forged" and "fabricated" documents, as per the ED.The agency found that the man operated a hawala network to facilitate illegal cross-border remittances between India and Bangladesh, collecting payments in cash and UPI, before transferring equivalent amounts to Bangladesh using platforms like 'Bkash', an online financial transaction platform in Bangladesh."He was also involved in illegal money transfers and document forgery and was actively involved in facilitating the preparation of visas and passports for Bangladeshi nationals seeking to travel to countries like Dubai, Cambodia and Malaysia," the ED said.advertisementThe Pakistani man collected payments in Bangladeshi Taka, US Dollars, and Indian Rupees and deposited these amounts into his own bank account or transferred them to the accounts of associates engaged in fraudulent visa or passport processing, the ED alleged.He played a "significant" role in "fraudulent" activities carried out at certain forex changers (full-fledged money changers) based in Kolkata, in which "huge" cash deposits were declared as proceeds from legitimate foreign currency sales to customers, but were actually "proceeds of crime" linked to "unlawful" activities including the creation of "fake" Indian identities for Bangladeshis to obtain passports, the ED said.The ED had said in April that the man has two sons - Osama Bin Azad and Omar Faruk - and his wife Maymuna Akhter, residing in Bangladesh and are citizens of that country. It said the man "frequently" visited Bangladesh to meet his family.Must Watch
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Indian Express
38 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Kolkata: In chargesheet, ED says Pak man ran hawala network, forged papers
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a chargesheet under the anti-money laundering law against a Pakistani national, Ajad Mallik, who had been illegally living in Kolkata using forged Indian and Bangladeshi identity documents. In a statement released by the ED on June 13, it said a Prosecution Complaint (PC) was filed before the Special Court under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), Kolkata. The agency began investigating Mallik after an FIR was lodged by the West Bengal Police under Sections 14 and 14A of the Foreigners Act, 1946. According to the ED, Mallik, also known by aliases Ahammed Hossain Azad and Azad Hossain, had fraudulently acquired multiple Indian government IDs, including an Aadhaar card, voter ID, PAN card, Indian passport, and driving licence. The ED initially suspected Mallik to be a Bangladeshi national, but a Pakistani driving licence recovered from his mobile phone, dating back to 1994 revealed his actual identity. The licence bore the name 'Azad Hossain', listed his father's name as Mumtaz-ul-Haque, and provided a permanent address in Hyderabad, Pakistan. His date of birth was recorded as August 14, 1971. ED officers arrested Mallik on April 15, 2025, following a search operation that revealed his role in creating fraudulent identity documents for illegal immigrants in exchange for money. He was taken into ED custody for 14 days and is currently in judicial custody. The ED found that Mallik ran a 'hawala network' facilitating illegal cross-border payments between India and Bangladesh. He collected payments through cash and UPI in India and transferred equivalent amounts to Bangladesh using mobile payment platforms like Bkash. He was also allegedly involved in forging documents for Bangladeshi nationals seeking visas and passports to travel to countries such as Dubai, Cambodia, and Malaysia. 'He collected payments in Bangladeshi Taka, US Dollars, or Indian Rupees and either deposited these into his own bank accounts or those of his associates engaged in fraudulent visa/passport processing,' the ED said. Investigators also found that Mallik was connected to certain Kolkata-based forex firms (FFMCs), where large sums of cash were deposited under the guise of legitimate foreign currency exchanges. In reality, these were proceeds of crime linked to illegal identity creation for Bangladeshi nationals. In an earlier update, the ED revealed that Mallik's wife, Maymuna Akhter, and two sons,Osama Bin Azad and Omar Faruk,live in Bangladesh. He reportedly made frequent visits to meet them despite lacking valid travel documents. The ED said that further investigation is underway.
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Bengal resident pushed into Bangladesh brought back with four others
Following the intervention by the TMC government in West Bengal, 36-year-old Mehbub Sheikh, a resident of Murshidabad who was picked up by Maharashtra Police and pushed into Bangladesh on suspicion of being an illegal immigrant, was brought back to the country on Monday. Another youth from Murshidabad, Shamim Khan, who too was detained in Maharashtra and pushed into Bangladesh, was also brought back along with Mehbub, officials here in Kolkata said. West Bengal Migrant Welfare Board chief Samirul Islam told The Indian Express that the intervention was made at the top-level of the state government. 'Under instructions of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the West Bengal government and police communicated to the Central government and the BSF. Mehbub Sheikh and Shamim Khan were brought back today (Monday). Three others were brought back on Sunday. We are verifying whether there are other residents of West Bengal who have been similarly pushed into Bangladesh,' Islam said. Sheikh, who worked as a mason in Thane area near Mumbai, was picked by Maharashtra Police on June 11 on suspicion of being an illegal Bangladesh migrant, and by June 14 (Saturday, 3.30 am) he was sent to a BSF camp in Siliguri and pushed into the neighbouring country despite his family and local police sending necessary documents to prove that he was an Indian citizenship. 'We coordinated with BSF and now the youths are returning home,' said Superintendent of Police (Murshidabad) Kumar Sunny Raj. In a statement, Murshidabad Police said: 'Upon receiving information, Murshidabad police immediately conducted local enquiries to establish the Indian citizenship of the individuals. After verifying relevant documents, they were submitted to the Border Security Force. Murshidabad police conducted prolonged coordination with the BSF. Later, the BSF conducted an urgent flag meeting with the Bangladesh Border Guard and brought back the youths.' 'Mehbub and Shamim have been handed over to Raiganj police station b y the BSF. We are now handing them over to Murshidabad police,' said Md Sana Akhtar, SP (Uttar Dinajpur). Of the five men brought back since Sunday, four are from Murshidabad and one from Purba Bardhaman, police said. They have been identified as Mehbub Sheikh of Bhagwangola; Nazimuddin Mondal and Shamim Khan of Hariharpara; Minarul Sheikh of Beldanga – all Murshidabad; and Mostafa Kamal Sheikh of Monteswar in Purba Bardhaman district. Mehbub Sheikh's brother, Mujibur, said: 'We are happy that he (Mehbub) is coming home. Today, a group of policemen came and took all the documents, including land records, voter card, ration card, Aadhaar card and others.' Meanwhile, the three others — Nazimuddin Mondal, Minarul Sheikh and Mostafa Kamal Sheikh — were also picked up by the police in Maharashtra and later pushed into Bangladesh. They were handed over to Mekhliganj police station in Cooch Behar and are expected to reach their homes on Monday night. 'My brother worked in the wig-making business. He worked in Delhi and moved to Mumbai a month ago. He was staying in the Nalasopara area. He was picked up on June 9 along with two other men, who worked as masons. The next day we sent all the documents to the police. We also submitted documents to the local Beldanga police station, who contacted Mumbai police but were not entertained. We got to know that the three were pushed into Bangladesh when my brother called us from Bangladesh,' said Musarraf, brother of Minarul. 'My brother is on his way home. My thanks to our state government for their effort,' added Musarraf. Ravik Bhattacharya is the Chief of Bureau of The Indian Express, Kolkata. Over 20 years of experience in the media industry and covered politics, crime, major incidents and issues, apart from investigative stories in West Bengal, Odisha, Assam and Andaman Nicobar islands. Ravik won the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award in 2007 for political reporting. Ravik holds a bachelor degree with English Hons from Scottish Church College under Calcutta University and a PG diploma in mass communication from Jadavpur University. Ravik started his career with The Asian Age and then moved to The Statesman, The Telegraph and Hindustan Times. ... Read More
The Print
an hour ago
- The Print
Probing fake passport & visa racket, ED finds ‘Bangladeshi' held in Bengal is actually Pakistani
The federal probe agency has made these submissions in the prosecution complaint filed on 13 June before a special court in Kolkata. Azad was arrested on 15 April by the agency as it was originally probing his stay in India without valid documents. Investigating a fake passport racket, the ED found that Azad was allegedly involved in procuring passports and visas for Bangladeshi nationals seeking to travel to foreign countries including Dubai, Cambodia, and Malaysia via India. New Delhi: A Pakistani national, he took on the identity of a Bangladeshi national to enter India and procured multiple Indian identification cards to stay illegally in India. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) suspects Ahammed Hossain Azad alias Azad Hossain or Ajad Mallik was 'actively involved' in facilitating passports and visas for Bangladeshi nationals. The ED's case stems from an FIR filed by West Bengal police under Section 14 and 14A of Foreigners Act, 1946 against Azad and others. The agency carried out searches at seven premises linked to him, including his residence at M.A. Sarani in North 24 Parganas district. 'Through document forgery and illegal means, it is suspected that he along with his accomplices have made 100s of fake passports and facilitated movement of Bangladeshi nationals to foreign countries through India,' an ED official said. Also Read: Pakistan High Commission official in Delhi named in FIR for seeking Indian defence info, 2 arrested for spying 'Pakistani ID, Bangladeshi identity as cover' During the investigation, the agency found a driving license issued in 1994 in Pakistan's Hyderabad province on Ajad's mobile phone. In the document, he was referred to as Ahammed Hossain Azad, son of Mumtaz-Ul-Haque, a permanent resident of Pakistan. On the other hand, his current documents claim his father's name to be Mona Mallik, a Bangladeshi national. Azad used his forged Bangladeshi identity to hide his Pakistani identity and live among the Bangla-speaking population in West Bengal, sources in the agency told ThePrint. 'In order to conceal his true identity, Azad Hussain adopted the alias 'Ajad Mallik' and procured multiple Indian identity documents—including Aadhaar card, PAN card, driving licence, voter ID, and passport—by submitting forged and fabricated documents,' an agency spokesperson said Monday in a statement. Azad makes regular visits to Bangladesh to meet 'his wife and son' to keep his fake identity alive, say agency officials. The agency has also found that Azad operated a cross-border hawala network to facilitate transfer of illegal money between India and Bangladesh. For this, the agency has alleged, Azad and his accomplices used to take cash from people, deposit in into bank accounts and then transfer it to Bangladesh through platforms such as bKash. ED officials said that the investigation conducted so far found deposits amounting to more than Rs 60 crore in one of the firms managed by Azad and a conduit, who is currently absconding. 'The money has been found to be deposited in the bank accounts but further investigation is underway to identify and establish proceeds of crime in this entire module,' another official said. 'Further, Azad Hossain played a significant role in the fraudulent activities carried out at certain forex changers (FFMC) based in Kolkata, in which huge cash deposits were falsely represented as proceeds from legitimate foreign currency sales to customers but were Proceeds of Crime (POC) actually linked to unlawful practices, including the creation of fake Indian identities for Bangladeshi individuals to obtain passports,' said the ED spokesperson. (Edited by Viny Mishra) Also read: The Great Indian Passport Scam: Labyrinth of fictional identities, expert forgers & pliant system
