6 months after deportation, Bangladeshi national held again in Mumbai; police flag gaps at West Bengal border

MUMBAI: Barely six months ago, Rabiya Nasir Mulla was caught living illegally in Mira-Bhayander and deported to Bangladesh. Recently, the 46-year-old was caught again- this time in Vile Parle - and is again waiting to be sent back.

Like her, 38-year-old Zulekha Jamal Sheikh and 30-year-old Bilkis Begum Sirmiya Akhtar, who were apprehended from different areas of south Mumbai last month, told police they had been deported to their country, Bangladesh, last Aug, but returned illegally.


Rabiya, who had worked as a domestic help and lived in Mira-Bhayander for 25 years, told police she managed to cross the border by travelling through jungles to come back.

Such return of illegal Bangladeshis is a cause of concern for Mumbai police who have ramped up crackdown on illegal immigrants. Police officials said the West Bengal border does not seem secure and many deported Bangladeshis have returned by allegedly bribing border security personnel.

In the last two years, 1,237 illegal Bangladeshi immigrants were detained across the state.

The crackdown on illegal migrants has led to a surge in arrests not only in MMR, but also across the state in the past few years.

Joint commissioner of police (Law & Order) Satyanarayan Chaudhary said the 93 police stations in Mumbai have intensified efforts to nab illegal immigrants. “The action has yielded results with 1,000-plus illegal immigrants being deported in 2025. The city police stations have been instructed to continuously crack down on illegal immigrants. Action continues with hundreds of caught in 2026 to be deported soon,” he said.

Rabiya Nasir Mulla (46), who was deported on Aug 8, 2025, by Mira-Bhayander Vasai-Virar police, was recently apprehended in Vile Parle (West) on a tip-off received from police constable Nitin Chawle, who alerted seniors. Deputy commissioner of police (Zone IX) Dikshit Gedam supervised the team led by Juhu police senior inspector Sunil Jadhav, inspector Vijay Dhotre and team.

Mulla told Juhu police that she returned to Mumbai after being deported on a flight along with 1,600 other Bangladeshis from across the state in Aug last year.

Last week, Versova police detained 21 Bangladeshis, including 18 transgenders, who were residing illegally in Andheri (W).

“Since they are Bangladeshi citizens, we have submitted a report to the Foreigners Registration Officer in Mumbai to take appropriate action and to deport them at the earliest,” said a police officer.

In Jan, two Bangladeshi women, who had been deported last year, were caught in south Mumbai. Zulekha Jamal Sheikh (38) was apprehended from near the Gateway of India. She said she was living on a footpath in Kamathipura area before being deported in Aug 2025.

Similarly, 30-year-old Bilkis Begum Sirmiya Akhtar, who was arrested from the Cuffe Parade area, told police that she was deported by the Mumbai crime branch in Aug 2025, but re-entered the city illegally.