Early Times Report
Jammu, July 24: Security agencies have uncovered an extensive network allegedly facilitating the illegal settlement of Bangladeshi infiltrators and Rohingya immigrants from the eastern borders of the country to Jammu and Kashmir, raising serious concerns over national security, identity fraud and cross-border funding.
The revelations have emerged during an ongoing multi-agency investigation, codenamed 'Operation Pehchan', which is probing the use of forged identity documents, illegal financial transactions and organised networks that allegedly helped foreign nationals enter India, obtain local identities and settle in sensitive border districts of Jammu and Kashmir.
According to officials familiar with the investigation, the probe, which initially focused on illegal immigration and foreign funding in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and West Bengal, has now expanded to Jammu and Kashmir. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is also examining Jammu and Srinagar links as part of a money laundering investigation involving suspected foreign funding.
Investigators have reportedly identified a network operating in the border districts of Kathua, Samba, Jammu, Rajouri and Poonch that allegedly arranged forged identity documents, accommodation and livelihood for illegal immigrants. Agencies are also examining whether the network received funds from foreign sources and whether any financial transactions had links to terror financing.
As part of the investigation, two suspects were arrested in Kathua in May. Based on their interrogation, two more persons were taken into custody in Uttarakhand. The agencies are also probing allegations that illegal immigrants were helped to settle in areas close to the International Border and the Line of Control (LoC).
Officials said Jammu district has one of the largest concentrations of Rohingya families in the Union Territory, particularly in localities such as Bathindi, Narwal, Sunjwan and areas around Bahu Fort.
Security agencies have also identified the Nepal route as a major corridor used by Bangladeshi infiltrators to enter India. According to investigators, the infiltrators first entered Nepal through the Kakarbhitta border crossing before travelling through Jhapa, Itahari, Biratnagar and Janakpur, eventually crossing the open Indo-Nepal border into India.
Investigators said many infiltrators allegedly entered India through the Petrapole border in West Bengal before travelling through Kolkata, Durgapur, Jharkhand, Bihar, Varanasi and Kanpur. From there, they reportedly took different routes via Agra and Delhi before passing through Sonipat, Ambala, and Pathankot to Lakhanpur in Kathua district, which serves as the gateway to Jammu and Kashmir.
Apart from Kathua, the investigation has identified Jammu, Reasi, Rajouri, Poonch and Udhampur in the Jammu region, along with Anantnag and Baramulla in Kashmir, as sensitive districts where the alleged network may have operated.
Officials said the investigation is continuing to determine the full extent of the network, identify its facilitators and examine possible links between illegal immigration, forged documentation, foreign funding and activities that could pose a threat to national security. |