Lucknow, Feb 1 : The UP ATS has arrested another illegal Bangladeshi immigrant staying in Deoband, Saharanpur, for the past eight years and allegedly helping illegal entry into India and carrying out anti-national activities in the country.

So far, eight people have been arrested in this connection since October, 2023.

According to the ATS officials, the arrested man, identified as Mohd Rashid Ahmad Sardar, 28, a resident of Chatgaon, Bangladesh, was found living in Deoband after illegally entering India in 2016.

He initially got admission in a Deoband madrasa by forging documents.

Thereafter, he lived there continuously and was involved in helping other Bangladeshi infiltrators enter the country by forging documents. He was arrested from Kanpur Central railway station when he was trying to escape to Bangladesh.

Earlier on January 8, the ATS arrested its mastermind Abu Saleh, a resident of West Bengal, for getting foreign funding of Rs 58 crore in the name of NGO and misusing it to bring people into the country illegally and carrying out anti-national activities.

He was arrested in Manak Nagar area of Lucknow with the help of information received through technical surveillance and ground inputs, officials said.

According to the ATS, they were receiving intelligence about a syndicate formed by some persons, who hide their identity and settle illegal entrants into India on fake documents and by giving them financial support, they promote anti-national activities.

"On the basis of it, cases under several IPC sections, Section 14 of Foreigners Act 1946 and Section 12(1), 12(2) Passport Act 1967 were registered," the ATS officials said.

During interrogation, Saleh claimed to be the director of the trusts Kabir Bagh Millat Academy and Haroa-al Jamiatul Islamia Darul Uloom Madrasa.

"In the FCRA accounts of these trusts, an enormous sum of funding totalling around Rs 58 crore was received from outside (Umma Welfare Trust, UK) in 2018 and 2022," said the police.

The officials said that a large part of foreign funds received is obtained in the form of cash through fake billing for his team members.

Apart from this, billing has also been done by creating a fake firm named Ghazi Foods Supply and Ghazi Masonries in collaboration with a person named Abdulla Ghazi. This firm exists only on paper. Besides, some money has also been received in the form of cash through Hawala.

The cash received was used for bringing in Rohingya and Bangladeshis into India illegally through their syndicate, providing financial assistance to Rohingyas and Bangladeshis living illegally in India, making fake Indian documents and sending that money back to India through Hawala.

/IANS