Police in Cooch Behar district, north Bengal, have apprehended a man suspected of being a Bangladeshi national who had been living in India for years using forged identity papers. The arrested individual, identified as Omar Farooq Byapari, was found residing in the Chowdhuryhat Gram Panchayat area under Dinhata-II block. Byapari is accused of obtaining fake documents like an Aadhaar card and voter identity card by falsely claiming an Indian citizen as his father in official records.
Authorities revealed that the accused had been residing in India under false pretenses, fabricating personal information to secure official documents. The issue came to light when the accused submitted an enumeration form during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, prompting a complaint from the local gram panchayat to the District Magistrate and the police station on December 4 last year.
It was disclosed by police sources that the accused had a previous association with the Ansar Bahini, a paramilitary auxiliary force in Bangladesh responsible for upholding law and order. Following the complaint, a search operation was launched, leading to the arrest of the accused in the Putimari area under the Dinhata police station limits on Tuesday night.
Local reports suggest that Omar Farooq Byapari entered India illegally around a decade ago and had been residing in the Chowdhuryhat area since. Denying the allegations in court on Wednesday, the accused claimed to be an Indian citizen and alleged false implication, stating his past association with a political party.
In response to the arrest and the accused’s claims, Cooch Behar district Trinamool Congress Vice President Abdul Jalil Ahmed clarified that Byapari was not linked to the party. Meanwhile, Cooch Behar district BJP Vice President Biraj Basu alleged the accused’s ties with the Trinamool Congress and previous complaints against him by residents. Dinhata Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Dhiman Mitra confirmed an ongoing investigation post the arrest.
