A sum of Rs 15,000 was all it took for Azad Sheikh (41), an alleged Bangladeshi national, to secure illegal entry into India and obtain forged identity proofs to live in the country, Kolkata Police have said.

Sheikh was arrested on May 18 after the car he was driving hit an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) of the Netaji Nagar police station when he was on his way to work. The vehicle was impounded and upon verification of Sheikh’s driver’s licence and Aadhaar card, the police found all his documents to be fake.

The subsequent investigation revealed that he hailed from Boalmari in Bangladesh’s Faridpur district and had been living in Khassankdaha of North 24 Parganas since October 2023.

A case was registered against Sheikh at the Kalighat police station under Section 14A(b) of the Foreigners Act and Section 212 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. During interrogation, Sheikh said he crossed over to India with the help of a middleman, who arranged for him to stay with one Zafar Ali Sheikh in the Nazat police station area, the police said.

Zafar allegedly introduced Azad as his elder brother and allegedly helped him obtain fake Aadhaar and ration cards, a driving licence, and a PM Awaas Yojana card. In the forged documents, Zafar mentioned his parents as Azad’s, it is learnt.

The police arrested Zafar on Saturday night for his alleged involvement in forging identity documents.

Officials said they were now concerned over the number of Bangladeshi nationals who may have entered India illegally with the help of the same racket and fanned out even to other states by paying such meagre amounts to middlemen.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had on April 15 arrested Pakistani national Ahammed Hossain for allegedly forging Indian identity documents.

Hossain, who initially claimed to be Bangladeshi and admitted to using forged documents to pose as an Indian, was later allegedly found to be a Pakistani national.