Kolkata, February 17 – The Kolkata Police have arrested six Bangladeshi nationals from a hotel in central Kolkata for overstaying in India after their visas expired, the police said on Tuesday.
Officers from the Park Street police station raided the hotel on Collin Street, after receiving information that six Bangladeshis were hiding in the city, fearing they would be forced to return to their country after their visas expired.
In the initial investigation, the police have learned that all these Bangladeshi youths are members of the Awami League.
Following the unrest in Bangladesh, they fled to Kolkata on medical visas, fearing attack. Six valid Bangladeshi passports have been recovered from them.
The arrested individuals are Abir Hossain, Mohammad Mamun Rashid, Mohammad Alimun Gazi, Azam Mollah, Faizal Amin, and Zaidul Islam. Among them, Azam Mollah is a Bangladeshi singer.
Even after coming to Kolkata, he has been singing in familiar circles. After being arrested early on Monday morning, Azam refused to give up his guitar. He also requested the officers of the Park Street Police Station to allow him to sing. However, when they were produced before the Bankshall Court on Monday, the judge ordered that all six of them be kept in judicial custody until February 27.
Police sources said that the arrested individuals are between 25 and 35 years old. They are mainly residents of Noakhali and Tangail in Bangladesh.
All six of them left the country separately last year due to the turbulent situation in Bangladesh. They came to Kolkata with a visa for medical treatment for physical illness. They contacted each other here. Gradually, they started staying in different hotels. Some of them also looked for work here. Among them, singer Azam Mollah was also singing in the circle of acquaintances.
According to police sources, their visas started expiring in November last year. By January, everyone's visas had expired. But none of them wanted to return to Bangladesh, fearing for their lives. They started staying at a hotel on Collin Street about seven days ago, where they were arrested.
Even after their arrest, the arrested Bangladeshis, members of the Awami League, told the police that they did not want to return to the country. However, a senior officer of the Kolkata Police said, "The process of 'pushing them back' to Bangladesh will continue as per the law after the end of their sentence."
