Two Bangladeshi women get two-year imprisonment for illegal stay

A Thane court has sentenced two Bangladeshi women to two years’ imprisonment for illegally entering India and residing here without valid documentation.

Additional Sessions Judge VG Mohite passed the order on Tuesday after the two accused, identified as Shahnaj Bilal Saddar (43) and Hasina Jabbar Khan (45), pleaded guilty to the charges against them.

Pleading for leniency, the defence counsel argued that both women were from impoverished backgrounds, married, had no prior criminal record, and were the sole breadwinners for their respective families.

Accepting the plea, the court convicted both individuals for violations under the Foreigners Act and the Passport Act. As the women had been incarcerated since their arrest on December 3, 2024, they were granted a set-off for the detention period already undergone.

Alongside the two-year jail term, the court imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 each on them.

According to the prosecution, the police’s Anti-Human Trafficking Cell team conducted a raid in the Mira Road area of Maharashtra’s Thane district on December 3, 2024. The two women were subsequently apprehended.

Investigations showed that they had crossed into Indian territory unlawfully and were living in rented premises arranged by a co-accused.

The defence counsel submitted an application expressing the women’s intention to plead guilty.

The judge said he had asked the accused about any inducement, threats or promises from jail authority or anybody to plead guilty, but they declined. “In these circumstances, I am satisfied that their plea is voluntary,” he said.

The court further directed that upon completing their legal sentences, both individuals be deported to Bangladesh.