The 41st battalion of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) apprehended a Bangladeshi attempting to enter India from Nepal with forged identity documents on Friday.

Shamim Hawlader, 34, was intercepted by the SSB from a shared taxi at the integrated check post in Panitanki near the India-Nepal border under the Siliguri subdivision.

He submitted an Aadhaar card with the name Shamim Khan during the routine screening. Noting his suspicious behaviour and the inconsistencies in his statements, the SSB personnel questioned him further. Eventually, he confessed that he is Bangladeshi.

An SSB source said he was lured to Nepal by a tout from Bangladesh who promised him a lucrative job. The tout charged him 1 lakh Taka and provided him with a fake Indian Aadhaar card to bypass security checks.

Shamim illegally entered India through Bongaon in India from Mainapur in Bangladesh around a week ago and went to Nepal via Forbesganj. There, he realised that the job offer was false and decided to return to India.

He took a bus from Kathmandu to Kakarvitta and then a taxi to Siliguri, where he was caught.

He was later handed over to local police.

Drug haul

A special operation team of the SSB and personnel of the Galgalia police station in Kishanganj district of Bihar carried out a raid at Darbhangatola in Galgalia, which is around 1.2km from the India-Nepal border.

They recovered 346 grams of a white powder concealed in three plastic packets, suspected to be morphine, and two cell phones.

Puja Kamti was intercepted during the raid. She was later handed over to the
Bihar police.