Delhi Police said it has arrested 11 individuals on Tuesday in connection with a gang involved in the illegal immigration of Bangladeshi nationals.

Among those apprehended, four are Bangladeshi citizens, while the others are said to have played a role in the production of forged documents, according to official statements.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Ankit Chauhan mentioned that the gang was discovered while investigating four suspects involved in a murder that occurred in Sangam Vihar on October 21.

The Bangladeshi nationals arrested include Midul Miyan, also known as Akash Ahmed, and Fardeen Ahmed, also known as Abhi Ahmed, along with their spouses. During questioning regarding the murder of Sentu Seikh, known as Raja, the suspects disclosed that Sentu had bullied them on trivial matters and that they had illegally entered India, where they had been living in Sangam Vihar for several years.

Authorities recovered several items from the suspects, including Bangladeshi national ID cards (chip-based NID cards) and birth certificates. Additionally, approximately 21 Aadhaar cards, four voter ID cards, and eight PAN cards were found at the residence of the murder victim.

A dedicated team led by Inspectors Umesh Yadav and Umesh Sharma, with oversight from ACPs Abhinendera Jain and Niraj Tokas, was assembled to investigate the illegal immigration matter, as stated by Chauhan.

During further investigations, police detained Sahil Sehgal, a 26-year-old who managed a computer center called “Poonam Online Computer Centre” in Rohini Sector 5. This center was reportedly involved in the production of Aadhaar cards and other documents using fake identities. Sehgal indicated that the illegal Bangladeshi immigrants approached him through the deceased Sentu Seikh.

Investigations revealed that Sahil utilised a fraudulent website named “Jantaprints.site” to create fake birth certificates, which he forwarded to an associate, Ranjit, for Aadhaar card processing.

Ranjit, who resides in Sector 7, Rohini, collaborated with Afroz, 25, an authorized Aadhaar operator at Karnataka Bank in Rohini Sector 5, to facilitate the unlawful creation of Aadhaar cards using counterfeit birth certificates.

Both Ranjit and Afroz were apprehended, leading to the discovery that the “Jantaprints.site” provided various forged documents—such as birth certificates, matriculation certificates, caste certificates, COVID certificates, and income certificates—at minimal prices, starting at Rs 7.

Payments for these fraudulent documents were conducted via Paytm QR codes linked to a phone number registered under Mohammad Chand. Technical surveillance resulted in the arrest of Mohammad Chand, 28, from Uttam Nagar, who was captured in Vikas Nagar, Delhi. He admitted to taking a 2% commission on the transactions and forwarding the remaining payments to Saddam Hussain.

Saddam Hussain, 33, also from Uttam Nagar, was arrested, unveiling further ties to the operation of “Jantaprints.site” led by his associate, Deepak Mishra. Saddam retained a 2% share of the payments before transferring the rest to Deepak Mishra.

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi took part in Christmas celebrations organised by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, the metropolitan bishop of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church took a jibe at him. This followed incidents in which activists from the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal attacked a Christmas crib at a government school in Palakkad, Kerala.

The bishop of the Thrissur diocese shared a sarcastic and cryptic comment in Malayalam on his Facebook page directed at Modi and the BJP. His post read, “In some places, bishops are honored, and cribs are cherished. Here, cribs are destroyed. There must be a term in Malayalam for such behavior, right?”

These actions by local VHP activists, including the vandalism of a crib created by children in another Palakkad school, sparked widespread protests throughout Kerala. In response, the state government assigned a special police team to look into these incidents.

Additionally, the Communist Party of India (CPI), the second-largest partner in Kerala’s ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF), strongly condemned Modi’s participation in the Christmas celebrations in New Delhi, labeling it as a “drama of political hypocrisy.”

CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam stated, “While the PM was preaching about Christ and His love to cardinals and bishops in New Delhi, his ‘sangh bandhus’ were disrupting Christmas celebrations in Nallepilly and committing blasphemy.”

Viswam further suggested that if Modi was sincere in his message during the CBCI event, he should visit Manipur this Christmas to promote love and peace, questioning whether the PM would be willing to go.

During the celebrations on Monday, Modi expressed concern over the attempts to incite violence and disrupt societal harmony. At the event hosted by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, he highlighted the need to strengthen the ideals of love, harmony, and brotherhood, in line with the teachings of Jesus Christ.

This was the first time a Prime Minister attended a program at the headquarters of the Catholic Church in India.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday asserted that there were no arbitrary additions or deletions of voters in the recently concluded Maharashtra assembly elections.

The EC made this statement while responding to Congress, which alleged arbitrary deletion of voters and addition of more than 10,000 voters in each constituency from the final voter lists. The Congress also claimed an inexplicable increase in voting percentages from 5 pm to the final voter percentage declared by the EC at 11:30 pm on the day of polling.

Speaking on voter turnout data, the election panel said it would not be correct to compare the 5 pm data with final figures. It also explained how the increase in voter turnout from 5 pm to 11:45 PM was normal, being part of the process of aggregation of voter turnout and how there can be bona fide but inconsequential differences in votes polled and votes counted.

The election body also stated that it is impossible to change actual voter turnout as statutory Form 17C giving details of voter turnout is available with authorised agents of candidates at the time of close of voting at the polling station itself. It added that the rule-based process was followed with transparency in Maharashtra electoral roll preparation and there were no irregular patterns in voter deletions in the state.

The EC also told the Congress that due process was followed, including the participation of Congress representatives in the preparation of electoral rolls. The ECI informed the Congress that all data, as demanded by the party, relating to electors for each Constituency in Maharashtra and Form 20 is available on CEO Maharashtra’s website and can be downloaded.

In its response, the EC assured collaboration on its meticulous, participative, and transparent processes. The Election Commission also underscored the importance of collaboration with all political parties and welcomed constructive suggestions.