By Probir Pramanik. Maharashtra, India, 06:30 PM IST

It has always been a problem, but now, the police here say, the unchecked illegal migration from Bangaladesh to India is casting a terror shadow as well.

A crackdown is under way on the scores of Bangladeshis who have made Mumbai their home after having entered the country illegally.

And the police force is coming up with some stunning surprises. In October 2005, the Special Branch arrested Shakeela Khatoon, 25. She was among 460 Bangladeshis netted in a drive against illegal immigrants. She was deported.

A year later, Shakeela again fell into the police net from a slum on Mira Road in the northwestern suburbs of Mumbai. This time she had a new name: Bilkis Banu.

'This is not surprising. It is a common tactic these illegal immigrants adopt. Sometimes these Bangladeshis reach Mumbai even before the policemen who are sent to deport them from the West Bengal border are able to come back,' says Mumbai's police chief A.N. Roy.

The challenge for Mumbai Police is that some illegal aliens from Bangladesh have cropped up in police investigations into the recent terror attacks in the city, the worst of which were the July 11 train bombings that killed nearly 200 people.

Mumbai Police have over the past month launched a systematic crackdown on illegal Bangladeshis.

'(Illegal immigration) was always a big problem but post-July 11 we have stepped up the vigil,' said Mumbai Police Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) chief K.P. Raghuvanshi.

'Not only illegal Bangladeshis but Pakistanis are also coming into the country as legitimate passengers and they are disappearing without a trace,' Raghuvanshi told IANS.

According to statistics on the Mumbai Police website, of the 501 Bangladeshis arrested till October this year 346 have been deported. A total of 701 were deported between 2004 and 2005.

As part of the special drive, the Special Branch is carrying out round-the-clock checks at various arrival points and known hotspots in and around the city.

At least two among the 16 people arrested by ATS for their alleged involvement in the July 11 bombings, Kamal Ansari and Mohammad Majid, are known to have escorted the terrorists to Mumbai after helping them cross the India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal,' Raghuvanshi said.

Senior special branch officers say that the issue is of a 'porous border' in West Bengal, Assam and Tripura and an organised network of 'escorts' and crime cartel that provide these illegal immigrants with fake and forged documents.

'So well entrenched are these immigrants that a majority of them come equipped with fake passports, forged ration cards and voter IDs. This apart, repeated arrests have made them street smart. On their entry into India they ensure that the paper work is complete before proceeding to Mumbai,' said one officer.

'Interrogation of arrested Bangladeshis has revealed that it costs just about Rs.100 to get a fake ration card in the border districts of West Bengal,' added the officer.

The Bangladeshis have also started to move out of their traditionally favourite areas like Reay Road, Govandi, Dongri and Vadala to safer havens in the suburbs.

Roy feels illegal immigration will stop once national identity cards become mandatory for all Indians.

By Probir Pramanik (Staff Writer, © IANS)