Siliguri, West Bengal — An Afghan national was arrested on Monday at the Panitanki immigration office near Siliguri while attempting to cross into Nepal with a bundle of alleged forged Indian identity documents, Darjeeling police said. An Indian man who was assisting him was also detained in a joint operation by immigration officials and the Kharibari police.
Operation triggered by FRRO lookout circular
Authorities said the arrest followed a specific alert from a Lookout Circular issued by the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) to immigration officers. The joint team acting on the alert intercepted the Afghan national as he sought to use the Panitanki checkpoint, a key gateway on the India–Nepal border close to the narrow Siliguri corridor.
Darjeeling district police identified the foreign national as Abdullah Khan. An Indian national detained alongside him was named as Shankar Banik. Media reports describe Banik’s residence variously as Duttapukur in North 24 Parganas and as a resident of Bidhannagar; official records at the time of production before the court cite the names as provided by police.
Documents recovered and legal action
Police said a range of documents purporting to establish Indian citizenship were seized from Khan. Recovered items included an Aadhaar card, a voter identity card, bank account papers, a driving licence and a document resembling an Indian passport. Both men were produced before the Siliguri sub-divisional court after the Kharibari police registered a case under relevant provisions.
| Item | Reported recovery |
|---|---|
| Personal identity cards | Aadhaar card, voter ID |
| Travel/identity documents | Driving licence, document resembling passport |
| Financial papers | Bank account documents |
Police indicated the documents appeared to be forged and suggested they may have been obtained for a considerable sum of money. A formal probe is under way to establish how Khan acquired the papers and whether others were involved in preparing or procuring them.
Probe to examine links to wider networks
Darjeeling DSP Soumyajit Roy said investigators are treating the case as potentially more than an instance of illegal entry.
“The primary objective now is to determine whether a well‑organised international syndicate is behind the forged documents,”he said, according to police statements. Authorities are also scrutinising any possible links the accused may have had to terrorist or criminal networks, given the geopolitical sensitivity of the border area.
- Arrest followed a FRRO lookout circular and immigration vigilance at Panitanki.
- Seized documents include Aadhaar, voter ID, driving licence and bank papers allegedly forged.
- Police are investigating syndicate links and any security implications for North Bengal.
Officials noted that Khan had reportedly been staying in India for an extended period, with one report stating he had been residing in the Shibpur area of Howrah. The arrested pair were produced before the Siliguri subdivision court on Monday and remain subject to further legal and investigative procedures. Security measures along key routes in North Bengal have been intensified while investigators pursue leads.
The incident has drawn attention to the vulnerabilities at transit points along the Indo–Nepal frontier near Siliguri, a region where cross‑border movement is frequent and the narrow Siliguri corridor — locally known as the Chicken’s Neck — is strategically important. Local police said heightened surveillance and cooperation between immigration authorities and district law enforcement were crucial in intercepting the suspects.
