2-yr RI to Bangladeshi living in India without valid passport

A Palghar court has sentenced a 54-year-old Bangladeshi national to two years rigorous imprisonment for staying here without a valid passport.

Additional Sessions Judge J R Mulani, of the court at Dahanu, also imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 on the accused - Babu Razak Mandal - who was serving as a priest at a temple in the district.

Additional Public Prosecutor Manisha Parmar told the court that following a complaint by a local resident about Mandal staying in the country without valid documents, the Dahanu police had arrested him in September 2013.

The accused was tried under Indian Penal Code sections pertaining to cheating, forgery, using as genuine a forged document, and relevant provisions of the Passport Act and the Foreigners Act.

The judge pronounced the punishment yesterday, observing that the prosecution proved the charges against the accused beyond reasonable doubt.