MUMBAI: In an ongoing crackdown on illegal Bangladeshi nationals in the city, the Mumbai police have arrested a 41-year-old woman who was deported to Bangladesh in July last year but allegedly re-entered India within months and resumed living in Dharavi.
According to the Dharavi police, Rahima Khatun Roshan Ali, a native of Jashore in Bangladesh, was apprehended by officials of the Anti-Terrorism Cell (ATC) at the T-Junction on the Sion-Bandra Link Road following specific intelligence inputs.
“Acting on credible information that she was a Bangladeshi national residing in India without valid documents, our team detained her for questioning. During interrogation, she admitted to being a Bangladeshi citizen and staying in the country illegally,” said an officer from Dharavi police station.
A search of her belongings allegedly led to the recovery of a Bangladesh-manufactured Itel mobile phone. Police said call records showed several outgoing calls to numbers beginning with +880, the country code for Bangladesh. Officers also found an internet-based audio and video calling application commonly used for international communication on her phone. Her Bangladeshi national identity card and passport were also seized, police said.
Further verification revealed that Ali had earlier been detained by the Nagpada police and deported to Bangladesh on July 22, 2025. However, investigators said she re-entered India in November through the Benapole–Petrapole border, travelled to West Bengal, and subsequently reached Mumbai by train, arriving at Dadar.
“She has been residing in India illegally since November and was working as a daily-wage labourer, taking up small jobs to sustain herself,” the officer said.
The arrest comes at a time when the city police have intensified action against undocumented foreign nationals. Recently elected Mumbai mayor Ritu Tawde has publicly stated that strict measures would be taken to identify and act against illegal Bangladeshi nationals residing in the city, directing civic and police authorities to coordinate closely on the issue.
The Dharavi police have registered a case against Ali under sections 21 and 23 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025. Further investigation is under way to determine whether she received assistance in re-entering the country and to examine possible lapses in monitoring following her deportation.