MUMBAI: A Bangladeshi woman labourer, living illegally in India since 2016, deleted the banned IMO (In My Opinion) app after police recently began operations against illegal immigrants. Bandra police discovered this after apprehending Kulsum Shaikh alias Mohini (31) on Jan 15.
The banned IMO app is used by illegal migrants as it uses less internet data than other messaging apps, and calls made on it are also difficult to trace, said a police officer.
Following intelligence received by Bandra police assistant inspector Hanumant Waghmode, the team captured Shaikh when she came to work in Bandra West.
“Mumbai is witnessing heightened police operations against illegal Bangladeshi immigrants since Jan 1 in response to political instability in Bangladesh,” DCP (crime) Datta Nalawade told TOI.
City police’s drive to identify, arrest, and deport illegal Bangladeshis gained further momentum following the attack on actor Saif Ali Khan; 20 illegal immigrants have been caught since the Jan 19 arrest of the suspected Bangladeshi assailant Shariful Fakir. Since Jan 1, Mumbai police have arrested 42 Bangladeshis from across the city.
Bandra police alone have apprehended 14 Bangladeshi nationals in the past fortnight. Mumbai crime branch too made two arrests in Chembur Tuesday. DCP Nalawade said the two illegal immigrants, Chanchal Sardar and Firdos Gazi, were caught after a tip-off received by inspector Dilip Tejankar.
