A 70-year-old woman from Bangladesh, identified as Munara Bi, was arrested along with her two alleged sisters in Bareilly for illegally staying in India since the 1990s and possessing two forged Indian passports. The arrest was made on Friday by local police following an ongoing investigation into her suspicious identity and documents.
Munara, originally from Sheekri village in Jessore, Khulna division, Bangladesh, reportedly entered India without valid travel documents and gradually acquired forged Indian identity papers. Using these, she obtained her first Indian passport in 2011.
Police revealed that she secured a second passport in 2012 under the name Saira Bano—allegedly her sister—but with her own photograph. With these fraudulent documents, she managed to travel internationally to Bangladesh, UAE, Kuwait, and other countries between 2012 and 2024.
Authorities added that Munara even renewed one of the passports at the Indian Embassy in Kuwait, extending her ability to travel and operate across borders. She allegedly tried to destroy her passport during the investigation.
SP (City) Manush Pareek stated that Munara’s story of being brought to India as a child was doubtful. “This is a common narrative we hear from illegal immigrants once they are caught,” he said. Police are also questioning all three women separately to verify whether they are genuinely related.
Munara, Saira Bano, and Taslima have been arrested and booked under charges of forgery, cheating, and relevant sections of the Passports Act. The case was registered at Premnagar police station.
Her bank accounts
Travel history
Property ownership
Any possible network of illegal immigration or document forgery
A senior officer said that Munara’s husband passed away 17 years ago, after which she applied for the passports and began traveling abroad.
The case is currently under further investigation by security agencies and local law enforcement.
