Overview
- The court sentenced Zakir Khan, Badal Houladar, Kabir Talukdar, and Mohammed Bachchu Gharami to three years of rigorous imprisonment and a Rs 20,000 fine each, with one extra month if they do not pay, under the Foreigners Act and the Passports (Entry into India) Act.
- Investigators found the men slipped into India from Bangladesh through Benapole, Jashore, and Akhaura, then used fake Indian identity papers to set up a waste-segregation business on the outskirts of Bengaluru.
- The group hired other trafficked Bangladeshi nationals, leased land, and built sheds to confine workers, which points to organized labor exploitation.
- The NIA opened the case on its own in November 2023 after surveillance flagged a cross-border ring, ran nationwide searches that led to 12 arrests and seizures of Bangladeshi IDs, forged Indian papers, digital devices, and cash, filed a chargesheet in February 2024, and made two more arrests in May 2024.
- Officials say the investigation continues to map the wider network, a push that could trigger more arrests and tighter checks on labor in waste handling around Bengaluru.