B’deshi woman, Indian hubby held for running lodge with fake papers

HARIDWAR: A 41-year-old Bangladeshi woman and her Indian husband were arrested in Haridwar on Thursday for allegedly running a lodge using forged identity documents. Police said she had been living in India since 2023.Officials said accused Sleha Begum had divorced her first husband in Bangladesh and came into contact with Shyamdas, a resident of Chhattisgarh, through social media. He allegedly asked her to come to India. After arriving, she did not return and later moved to Haridwar with him, where she changed her name to Sweeti and procured fake documents. The couple was running a lodge for their livelihood.Haridwar SSP Navneet Singh told TOI, “Based on inputs from the Local Intelligence Unit, Jwalapur police conducted a raid at Vaishnavi Enclave and arrested Sleha Begum. Shyamdas helped her prepare fake documents and a marriage certificate. We also recovered her original documents from Bangladesh. A case has been registered, and further investigation is underway.”Police said Begum had entered India with valid documents in 2023 but did not return after the permitted 90-day period. The couple initially stayed in Delhi before moving to Haridwar about a year ago.