Liberal Bangladeshi blogger Mufti Abdullah Al Masud, also known as Mufti Masud, was arrested from Kalyani in Nadia on Monday for illegally staying in India for nearly five years after the expiry of his extended tourist visa.

Masud, a former Imam who later declared himself an atheist, was arrested by Kalyani police from a rented house in the Gokulpur area under ward 13 of Gayeshpur Municipality. He had been staying there for the past six months in a house owned by a Chakdaha-based schoolteacher.

Police said Masud, who faces life threats from radical fundamentalists in Bangladesh for his secular and rationalist views since 2016, had been living in India without valid documents since 2020.

According to police, probe revealed that Masud entered India legally on a tourist visa in 2017, which was extended several times till 2020. He initially stayed in Calcutta. After changing several addresses, he came to Gayeshpur in April 2025.

Ashish Maurya, superintendent of police, Ranaghat police district, said: “His passport expired in 2020 and was renewed in 2024. It was further revealed that his visa had also expired in 2020, after which he did not possess any valid visa or document to justify his stay in the country. Considering his overstaying in Indian territory without valid papers, a specific case has been initiated under appropriate sections
of law.”

Masud, a native of Chouthai Mahal in Pirojpur district of Bangladesh, has been charged under Section 23 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025. He was produced before the additional chief judicial magistrate’s court in Kalyani, which remanded him to two weeks’ judicial custody.

The police have informed both the Union home ministry and the ministry of external affairs about the case.

From his rented house, police recovered his passport, two laptops, cameras, mobile phones and cash. Investigators have also begun probing the connection between Masud and the schoolteacher who allegedly provided him safe accommodation.

Masud, who gained prominence in 2016 for his advocacy of communal harmony and secular humanism, runs a popular YouTube channel titled ‘Abdullah Al Masud (Murtad)’, meaning apostate. On his channel and Facebook page, he posts theoretical discussions on the existence of God, atheism and rational thought.

Masud’s covert presence in Gayeshpur came to light last Friday when Kalyani police detained him following a complaint from residents over his “visitors” and “activities”. Sources said he was released the same day after interrogation, but residents continued to express concern.

Rathin Chakraborty, a local resident, said they came to know Masud was a Muslim, which “made him stand out in our Hindu locality”. “His mysterious silence and suspicious activities created a buzz. Residents lodged a complaint with the police to verify his identity and activities,”
Chakraborty said.

Reacting to his Friday detention, exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasrin had written on Facebook: “Those Muslims who, after gaining knowledge, have left Islam and begun to keep faith in humanism, trying to make people rational..., have been facing threats from fundamentalist jihadis and are often compelled to leave their countries to save their lives. I have heard that Abdullah Al Masud has been arrested by Calcutta Police. I hope the police will try to understand his struggle and release him with honour.”