Bhubaneswar: A local court here on Tuesday sentenced nine Bangladeshi nationals to two years of rigorous imprisonment for illegally entering India and staying in the country without valid documents. Odisha Police confirmed that this was the first conviction of Bangladeshi infiltrators in the state.The convicts — Md Hasim (46), Sajib Khan (24), Allam Shaika (41), Md Azeem (40), Dilara Sheikh (45), Md Soha Talukdar (36), Karima Begum (25), Monira Begum (30) and Sahana Begum (45) — were arrested and a 16-year-old juvenile detained by the special task force (STF) of crime branch from Bhubaneswar railway station on March 8, 2025. They are residents of Mymensingh, Bagerhat and Dhaka regions of Bangladesh.“They were sentenced by the sub-divisional judicial magistrate under Section 14 of the Foreigners Act, 1946. Each convict was also fined Rs 10,000,” said IGP (crime branch) Sarthak Sarangi, adding that they will be repatriated after serving their sentence.According to STF officials, the group entered India with the help of an agent near Assam’s Dhuburi district and later moved to Bhubaneswar. The Bangladesh High Commission in Delhi was informed of their conviction.“They did not possess valid passports, visa or legitimate travel documents. They admitted to paying large sums to a trafficking agent to facilitate their illegal entry. During searches, seven mobile phones and both Bangladeshi and Indian currencies were seized,” an STF officer said.In a written reply in the assembly on Dec 1, 2025, chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi had said that 51 illegal Bangladeshi nationals have been identified in Odisha after the BJP came to power in the state in June 2024. Of these, 49 have been deported, while two were found to have used forged passports and are facing trial.As per Majhi’s statement, 24 Bangladeshi infiltrators were deported from Bhubaneswar besides 15 from Cuttack, six from Ganjam district, three from Kandhamal, and one from Koraput district.
