‘Neha' was Abdul all along: Bangladeshi arrested after 28 years in India

India Today

19-07-2025

After at least eight years of living under the guise of a transgender woman—and nearly three decades in total of residing in India undetected—Bhopal Police have arrested a Bangladeshi man, Abdul Kalam, who was living under the alias Neha.During an ongoing crackdown on illegal migrants, Bhopal police officials discovered that Abdul had carefully constructed a false identity as an Indian citizen, having forged documents including an Aadhaar card, voter ID, and even a passport.advertisementPolice further found that Abdul had made multiple visits to Bangladesh during his nearly thirty-year stay using the forged passport.
Abdul was arrested in the intervening night between Monday and Tuesday, following a coordinated, intelligence-led operation.Widely known as "Neha Kinnar" in the locality where he was staying, Abdul entered India at the age of 10 and went on to spend nearly 20 years in Mumbai before moving to Bhopal, sources close to the investigation told India Today TV. They further revealed that he maintained the identity of a transgender woman for at least eight years in Bhopal to avoid detection by local authorities.The accused had lived in various houses within Bhopal's Budhwara locality. Residents recognised him solely by this identity.Authorities have confirmed that Abdul also travelled to and from Bangladesh using his counterfeit Indian passport, raising significant concerns about the integrity of national documentation systems and border security.Police have seized multiple falsified documents from his possession, and an investigation is currently underway to determine the extent of the document fraud and whether he was assisted by a broader network.The Intelligence Bureau and the Anti-Terrorism Squad have joined the investigation, given the serious national security implications of the case.Cybercrime specialists are analysing Abdul's seized mobile phone, mining call logs, messaging history, and data connections to uncover potential co-conspirators or a deeper syndicate facilitating such identity fraud.'We received credible information through a confidential informant, which led to his identification and subsequent arrest. He has been residing in Bhopal for nearly a decade, but prior to that, he lived in Maharashtra. During this time, he had also returned to Bangladesh, which he managed to do using forged Indian credentials. The investigation is ongoing, and we are closely coordinating with central agencies,' said senior police official Shalini Dixit.She added that the matter is extremely serious, which is why the details of the operation have been kept completely confidential. Interrogation of the individual posing as a transgender woman is currently underway.Meanwhile, police are now preparing to conduct a gender verification test to determine whether Neha is biologically transgender or had been disguising himself as one to conceal his identity.advertisementAbdul has been placed under 30-day detention while the authorities initiate formal deportation procedures.Police are also probing whether his transgender identity was genuine or adopted purely as a means of deception.Investigators are examining whether any members of the local transgender community knowingly or unknowingly assisted him. A separate team from the Crime Branch is questioning his known associates.Officials have restricted access to Abdul, allowing only the station in-charge and two designated female officers to interact with him. The Centre has also been notified of the arrest, and multiple intelligence wings are actively involved in reviewing the data and evaluating the potential breach.He is currently in police custody at the Talaiya Police Station, where he is being interrogated under high security.- EndsMust Watch