KOLKATA — A Bangladeshi woman, identified as Shanta Paul, has been arrested in Kolkata for allegedly using forged Indian documents to apply for a passport. Paul, a former small-time model and airline crew member in Bangladesh, reportedly created fake Indian identification to facilitate international travel.
Police stated that Paul entered India legally a few months ago on a valid passport and initially lived in a rented room in the city’s upscale Park Street area. Using this address and with the help of an agent, she allegedly obtained a ration card. She later moved to a flat in the Bikramgarh area of south Kolkata, where she is suspected of collaborating with another individual to acquire fraudulent Aadhaar and voter ID cards.
A senior police officer said that a preliminary investigation revealed Paul was seeking to travel to foreign countries but was unable to do so from Bangladesh. Her strategy was to secure Indian documents to bypass these restrictions.
The fraud was uncovered during the verification process for her passport application. Officers at the Golf Green Police Station noticed inconsistencies in her date of birth and family background and she was unable to produce a valid birth certificate. This raised suspicions, leading the Anti-Rowdy Section (ARS) of the Kolkata Police to file a complaint.
A subsequent police raid on her residence led to the seizure of several documents, including her original Bangladeshi passport and an employee ID from a Bangladeshi airline. Authorities also recovered the forged Indian documents, such as multiple Aadhaar cards, voter ID cards, and a ration card, which were all found to have different addresses.
Police are now investigating who assisted Paul in obtaining the fake documents and are looking into her social media accounts, which showed posts where she claimed to be exposing individuals holding both Indian and Bangladeshi IDs. An officer said these posts were likely part of a “ploy to portray herself as a patriotic Indian concerned about national security.” The investigation is ongoing to uncover any wider network involved in this fraud.
