14 BANGLADESHI NATIONALS ARRESTED FROM APMC MARKET

The Navi Mumbai anti extortion cell has arrested 14 Bangladeshi nationals who were illegally working at APMC market in Vashi on Wednesday.

According to the police, the arrested people had come to the city by crossing the porus Indo-Bangla border in West Bengal. They had been staying in the city for the past five to six months and worked as labourers in the market.

“None of the arrested people had any valid visas and passport to work in India. Acting on a tip-off, we raided the market and arrested all of them on Wednesday. All of them have been sent to judicial custody on Thursday,” said Rajan Jagtap, police inspector from anti extortion cell.

According to Jagtap, there was one more Bangaldeshi national with the arrested people. But he had valid Bangladeshi passport and came to India on work visa. He was released.

Sources from the crime branch said many families in the city are hiring Bangladeshi women as domestic help. Reason- these women are hard working. “The biggest problem in arresting these women is, their employers are protective to them,” said a crime branch official.

“Many people from West Bengal are staying in rented houses of Kopar Khairane, Kharghar, Kalamboli and Panvel. The landlords are also unable to identify who is from West Bengal and who is from Bangladesh as all of them speak the same language and have the similar lifestyle,” he added.