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Arrests of facilitators have opened Pandora’s Box

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A series of arrests, made by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (UP-ATS) and Kolkata Special Task Force (STF) from different parts of the state in the last three months, have opened up the Pandora’s Box. After interrogating the arrested people, mainly facilitators, the investigators have traced mammoth financial transactions to accounts of the human trafficking syndicate, which smuggled Bangladeshis and members of the ethnic Muslim Rohingya community into India through the porous West Bengal border and then packed them off abroad with forged passports and Hindu identities.

In the last three months, the UP-ATS in close collaboration with the Kolkata STF, have arrested 21 people, including four facilitators, six conduits and the mastermind Mithun Mandal. Mandal along with Shaon Ahmed, Mominur Islam and Mahendi Hasan were arrested from the Deen Dayal Upadhya Railway Station, Mughalsarai, in October.

According to sources in the UP-ATS, Mandla who is now on transit remand in Lucknow lived life kingsize with lavish spending, five-star stays and foreign jaunts, but did not make assets to avoid taxman’s glare. Expensive apparels pegged at lakhs of rupees, five-star hotel bills and passports with stamped visas of exotic European and Southeast Asian destinations were seized.

“They don’t stay at one place and keep traveling in Southeast Asian countries and stay in rented apartments,” said one officer.

The UP-ATS that busted the network with international linkages, found over Rs 10 crore transactions in accounts of facilitators, middlemen and kingpins in a one-year span.

An informed senior ATS officer said, multiple bank accounts of Mandal, show a money trail of crores of rupees, adding that if total funds flow to the syndicate was calculated, it crossed Rs 10 crore in less than 12 months.

The facilitators included Ratan Mandal, Sameer Mandal, Noor Alam and Mohammad Jameel – all arrested from several places in West Bengal.

Explaining their modus operandi, sources in the Kolkata STF said kingpin Mithun Mandal used to operate a travel agency named European Tour and Travels in Bardhaman district of West Bengal.

His aide, Mahfuzur, used WhatsApp to communicate with clients in Bangladesh and Myanmar, who were interested in going abroad. He created a WhatsApp group (‘Only Bro’) and operated it under the name, Tony.

“Those ready to infiltrate and move abroad were asked to cough up Rs 5-7 lakh, depending on the country of their choice,” an STF officer said.

Once smuggled into India, the syndicate would provide them with fake Hindu identities and forged documents. Then they would be put across to middlemen in Gulf, South Africa and the UK. The gang would pocket the fee after spending just Rs 50,000-70,000 on forging documents.

Though the investigators are yet to connect the illegal immigration with any kind of terror design but what is keeping the investigators and the agencies on the tenterhooks is the growing trend of infiltrating into the country might be used effectively to push in terrorists into the Indian soil. The investigators are of opinion that the Covid-induced lockdowns and the subsequent unemployment which is making the work of these terror groups easier.

Taking advantage of the porous border with Bangladesh and unemployment, international terror groups like JMB, Ansarullah Faction and even the Islamic State are trying to spread their network in West Bengal.

The aim is to make the state the headquarters of the terror activities in entire eastern India.

Sometimes via direct interaction and at times through online, they are targeting smart but unemployed young boys and girls in the state.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Kolkata Police have secured this information from the three JMB terrorists who were arrested by the STF sleuths recently from a colony in the southern outskirts of Kolkata.

Crime

Stolen Luxury Car Seized in Agripada; Two Notorious Criminals Arrested

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Mumbai, July 19, 2025 – Agripada Police have successfully cracked a case involving the theft of a luxury vehicle, arresting two habitual offenders and recovering a stolen high-end Skoda car.

The incident dates back to July 11, 2025, when a luxury Skoda car (MH01DW 4778), owned by Suyash Tours and Travels and parked on Dr. Anandrao Nair Road in Agripada, was stolen. The crime was registered under FIR No. 332/2025 at Agripada Police Station under sections 379 (theft), 317(2), and 3(5) of the Indian Penal Code.

Following technical surveillance and confidential tip-offs, police nabbed two repeat offenders:

  1. Mohideen alias Kaka Sheikh Duresh, age 19, resident of Nagpada
  2. Wajid Anjum Khan, age 24, resident of Chunabhatti

Both suspects were arrested on July 16 and 17, respectively, and brought to Agripada Police Station for further investigation.

During the inquiry, it was revealed that the accused were planning to sell the stolen car. Police acted swiftly and recovered the stolen vehicle from their possession.

The investigation team also uncovered that the duo is involved in similar vehicle thefts in other areas. A total of six such vehicles have been seized so far in connection with their network. Their arrest is expected to help solve several pending cases of vehicle theft.

The operation was led by Senior Police Inspector and Crime Detection Team of Agripada Police Station.

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Crime

UP Shocker: Mother Of 5 Children Dies After Beaten Up By 24-Year-Old Lover Over Breakup In Noida

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A mother of five children died after her 24-year-old allegedly beaten her up following a heated argument over breakup on Monday in Noida. According to reports, the victim has been identified as Neeraj. The police registered a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and arrested the accused boyfriend.

According to police, woman’s husband Satish, originally a resident of village Hathni Gud in Badaun district, works in a private company. He lives on rent in a house located in Mamura village with his wife Neeraj and five children. Neeraj had an extramarital affair with Arjun, a resident of village Sahpur in Shahjahanpur district who lived in the neighbourhood, for the past three years.

Arjun worked as a housekeeper in a private company located in Sector-59. Husband Satish was unaware of their affair. Neeraj went to meet Arjun in his room in the neighbourhood on Monday evening around 6 PM. Here, a fight broke out between the two about breakup. After the argument, Arjun physically assaulted Neeraj. During this, Neeraj became unconscious and fell to the ground.

Panicked Arjun rushed her to a nearby hospital, from where the woman was referred to Kailash Hospital. Seeing no improvement in her condition, the woman was referred to the district hospital, where doctors declared her dead.

After being alerted, police arrived and sent the body for the post-mortem. They also took boyfriend Arjun into custody. Family members allege that Arjun murdered Neeraj by strangulation.

According to police, the woman had married Satish about 13 years ago. The couple has five children. To educate the children, Satish brought Neeraj from his ancestral village to Noida about five years ago. While living in lane number eight, Neeraj became friends with Arjun, who lived in the neighbourhood. Gradually, the friendship between the two turned into a love affair. Arjun is 24 years old and unmarried.

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Crime

Mumbai Shocker: Stepfather Arrested For Murder Of Missing 4-Year-Old Girl From Antop Hill; Body Found In Colaba

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Mumbai: In a chilling turn of events, the Mumbai Police on Tuesday arrested Imran Shaikh, the stepfather of four-year-old Amaira Shaikh, in connection with her murder. The child had gone missing from her residence in Antop Hill on the night of July 14 and her body was recovered from the Colaba sea coast the next morning.

Police Suspected Stepfather Over Girl’s Disappearance

Amaira was reported missing by her mother, Nazia, who had gone to the Antop Hill police station to lodge a complaint. However, as the investigation progressed, suspicion grew around Imran’s role in the child’s disappearance. Imran, also known as Immu, had taken Amaira with him the night she went missing and had been unreachable since, with his phone switched off.

Body Found Near Sassoon Dock

Amaira lived with her mother and stepfather in the Bengali Pura area of Rajiv Nagar in Antop Hill. Nazia, who has been previously married twice, was currently in her third marriage with Imran. On the night of July 14, after failing to locate Amaira despite searching extensively, Nazia approached the police. The next morning, Colaba police received an alert about a child’s body found floating near Sassoon Dock. The body, later confirmed to be Amaira’s, was sent to St. George Hospital for a post-mortem examination.

Initially, the Antop Hill police registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR), but with Imran absconding, suspicions deepened. Using physical identifiers from the missing person’s report, Colaba police confirmed the identity of the deceased. Cops now believe that Amaira may have been murdered and her body dumped into the sea.

Following this development, police intensified efforts to trace Imran. After going off the radar briefly, he was arrested on Tuesday. Authorities are now focusing on uncovering the motive behind the brutal crime and piecing together the exact sequence of events leading to the child’s death.

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