In a joint operation, a man and a woman from Navi Mumbai were arrested for allegedly helping 20 Bangladeshi nationals, who had fled to Meghalaya to evade legal action, open bank accounts. The duo — identified as Jabir Yunus Shaikh and Nusrat Arshad Qazi from Koparkhairane — were detained and handed over to the Meghalaya Police, who had arrived in the city with non-bailable warrants.
“Navi Mumbai Crime Branch and the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit began assisting Meghalaya Police after they traced 20 Bangladeshi nationals to the northeastern state. These individuals had reportedly taken refuge there after fleeing Navi Mumbai, where local police had launched a major crackdown on illegal immigrants in recent months,” Assistant Commissioner of Police (crime branch) Ajay Landge said.
During interrogation in Meghalaya, the Bangladeshi detainees revealed that Shaikh and Qazi had assisted them in opening bank accounts in Navi Mumbai, which were later used for various financial transactions. Acting on this input, a special team from Meghalaya arrived in Navi Mumbai seeking the duo’s arrest.
Using a combination of technical surveillance and intelligence from informants, the Navi Mumbai police team traced the suspects to Sector 12B in Koparkhairane and arrested them. They were then handed over to the Meghalaya Police, who had obtained a transit remand to transport the accused for further questioning and investigation in the northeastern state.
The operation was conducted under the supervision of Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ajaykumar Landge and ACP Dharmapal Bansode, along with Senior Police Inspectors Niraj Chaudhary and Prithviraj Ghorpade, API Alka Patil, PSI Prashant Kumbhar and their respective teams.