Afghans living illegally in Kolkata under scanner, six arrested in just a month

At least six Afghan nationals have been arrested in Kolkata in less than a month for allegedly residing without a valid visa and illegally procuring documents such as passport, driving licence, Aadhaar, PAN and voter ID cards to pose as Indian citizens, police officials said.

“An Afghan identified as Naseer Khan, against whom a lookout notice had been issued, was arrested on November 17 from the Kolkata airport when he was about to board a Kuala Lumpur-bound flight on an Indian passport. Two more passports issued against different names were recovered from him during interrogation,” a Kolkata police officer said, requesting anonymity.

“Three other Afghan men were arrested from the Bhawanipore area in early November. They used the address of their rented accommodation to procure diving licences as well as Aadhaar and voter ID cards. Two more of their associates were arrested later from the Watgunge area of Kolkata,” said the officer.

The Security Control Organisation of the city police is carrying out an investigation in these cases.

The lookout notice, against people who entered India with passports issued in Afghanistan but did not return after the expiry of their visas, intensified after the Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) Order, 2025, was issued by the Union home ministry on September 1, officials said.

“Some more Afghans living in Kolkata and surrounding areas are under the scanner. Most of these people entered India as refugees of war in their country. They were allowed to stay temporarily on humanitarian ground but they did not return after the Taliban formed the new government,” a second city police officer added.