Mira-Bhayandar: After languishing in jail for nearly 45 days on alleged charges of being an illegal Bangladeshi immigrant who entered India without any valid documents, a fish vendor from Mira Road was granted bail by the additional session judge, Thane.
Acting on a tip-off, personnel from the anti-human trafficking unit (AHTU) attached to the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) police had arrested two people including the fish vendor identified as- Pankaj Dulal Das (42) from Mira Road on 21, February, 2025.
Das, who was booked under the relevant sections of the Passport Act-1920 and Foreigners Act- 1946 immediately filed a criminal bail application (195/2025) seeking bail on the grounds that he was falsely implicated in the offence.
To substantiate his contention of being an Indian citizen, Das filed his Aadhar card, pan card, school leaving certificate, bank passbook, birth certificate of his children, income tax returns, LIC policy, ration card, house tax receipt and domestic gas receipt amongst other business-related documents.
The prosecution on the other hand strongly resisted the bail application apprehending tampering with the prosecution witness, absconding from justice and repetition of similar kinds of offences.
However, additional sessions judge, A.S. Bhagwat observed that no documentary evidence had been placed on record to indicate that documents submitted by the applicant were bogus and the passport cannot be considered as only citizenship proof.
Hence, unless and until the documents submitted by the applicant are determined as bogus by competent authorities, they have to be treated at their face value stated the judge while allowing bail on furnishing a personal bond and surety bond of Rs 50,00.
The bail order is tagged with conditions like- he shall cooperate with the investigating agencies and appear before them on every Saturday from 10 am to 1 pm (till charge-sheet is filed), shall not contact/ issue threats to any prosecution witness and not leave the country without prior permission of the court.
FIR States Bangladesh as Birthplace.
Although the court granted bail to the accused, the FIR (0030/2025) registered at the Mira Road police station not only states his original address and birthplace as- village Gazirhaat Bui Baug which falls under Kalia police station in Jashore district of Bangladesh, but also reveals that Das was found to be using the banned IMO (In My Opinion) mobile application and WhatsApp to communicate with his relatives back in his home country.
