Two Bangladeshi men illegally staying in India arrested for kidnapping minor

Two man said to be Bangaldesh nationals illegally staying in India were arrested Thursday for allegedly kidnapping a 17-year-old girl in Gautam Buddh Nagar here, police said.

The duo, identified as Babu (25) and Raju (22), have been staying in India for the last eight-nine years during which they have stayed in the national capital as well, they said.

A case was recently registered at the Dadri police station about a missing girl. During a search operation, the police zeroed in on these two men after which their illegal stay came to the fore, a senior official said.

"The two were living in Chithaira village of Dadri area in Gautam Buddh Nagar and originally belonged to Khulna district of Bangladesh," he said.

"We are yet to verify their identity but they have that said they are from Bangladesh. They said they have been living in Dadri for the last six years and were working at a car washing workshop. It was from the workshop that they came in contact of the girl and then eloped with her," Circle Officer (Dadri) Satish Kumar Sharma told reporters.

The accused have been booked under Indian Penal Code sections 363 (kidnapping), 366 (inducing a woman to compel her marriage), 376 (rape), among others. They have also been booked under section 14 of the Foreigners Act for illegally staying in India.

They have been charged with rape and kidnapping as the girl is a minor.

Her statement was being recorded by the police, Sharma said.

"The accused have been living in hiding for eight to nine years without visa and passport. On a tip-off, the two were held by the police near an under-construction flyover close to the railway road in Dadri," he said.

Sharma said evidence found during the probe suggested that the duo were living here under the "patronage" of some people. "Police are trying to find them and will take appropriate action against them," the CO said.

A probe is underway to find other foreigners staying illegally in the district, the officer said.