Bhubaneswar, Jan. 21: Police today detained four Bangladeshi nationals from two places in Jajpur district and interrogated them to ascertain their motive to stay in the state.

Yesterday, the cops had detained another Bangaldeshi national, Mohammad Basir, 23, for allegedly applying for a passport through forged documents. The cops nabbed Basir after he had come under the Regional Passport Office (RPO) scanner.

The police said the five Bangladeshi youths had come to Jajpur two months ago.

"We are interrogating them to ascertain the reason behind their stay in Odisha. Besides, we are investigating whether they had applied for passports," said deputy commissioner of police Satyabrata Bhoi.

The detainees told the police that they had come to India for petty business. "We are trying to find out the middlemen, who helped them cross the border," said a police official.

Basir was caught after he had produced a voter identity card from Jajpur district and a school-leaving certificate from an institute located in the same district. "When we verified the voter identity card from the election commission website, it did not match. The voter identity card number revealed that it was registered in the name of a 56-year-old woman," said an RPO official.

The police suspect that the Bangladeshi nationals are trying to get Indian passports as it fetches good jobs in the Middle East. "Workers on Indian passport tend to get more salary in the Middle East compared to those from Bangladesh," said a police official.

The police also suspect the involvement of an inter-state racket in the incident.

Regional passport officer Digbijoy Giri said the documents would be strictly scrutinised. "In case of any suspicion, officials have been directed to inform me and we would take police help if necessary," he said.