Bangladeshi Man Held at Indian Naval Academy in Kerala Over Alleged Fake Identity, Forged Papers

Kerala Police have detained a 32-year-old man identified as a Bangladeshi national after he was found working as a contract employee at the Indian Naval Academy in Ezhimala, near Payyannur, in Kannur district. The arrest, made on Friday, September 18, has become the sixth detention of a Bangladeshi national in the district in roughly four days and has raised fresh questions about identity verification and background checks for contract workers at a sensitive defence establishment.

The Indian Naval Academy is the Navy’s principal officer-training institution, making the case particularly sensitive because of the nature of the facility and the level of access a contract worker may have inside the campus. Police have not said that the man’s presence has been confirmed as a security threat, but they are examining how he was employed and what documents were used to secure the job.

Local reports and police accounts identify the man as Biplob Soren, though his name is also reported in some outlets as Biplob or Viplav Soren. The Hindu reported that police described him as the son of Anil Soren of Nabagram in Murshidabad, West Bengal. Kannur District Rural Police Chief Umesh Goyal said investigators had not yet confirmed whether the name he used was genuine, and that further inquiry would follow after he was taken into custody.

According to preliminary information, he had been working in the academy’s laundry section for about a year as a temporary or contract employee, while presenting himself as an Indian citizen. Reports say he did not have valid travel documents or a visa. Investigators also recovered what they described as a fake Aadhaar card in the name of Biplab or Biplob Soren, along with a police clearance certificate said to have been issued by Murshidabad police in West Bengal. Officials told multiple outlets that documents and other material recovered from his mobile phone during questioning pointed to Bangladeshi nationality.

Naval authorities reportedly grew suspicious of his conduct, placed him under observation and questioned him on Friday morning. After verification, he was handed over to Payyannur police at around 8.15 p.m. Payyannur Sub-Inspector Shuhaib carried out the arrest on the instructions of Circle Inspector Mahesh K. Nair. Some reports also said intelligence inputs had preceded the detention. When contacted, officials at the Indian Naval Academy declined to comment.

Police have not disclosed which contractor or agency engaged him, and they have not publicly alleged espionage or any other organised threat. Instead, investigators are focusing on how he obtained the forged documents, how he gained employment inside a high-security campus, and whether the required background verification for contract staff was properly conducted. The case remains under investigation.

Cluster of arrests in Kannur

The detention at Ezhimala came against the backdrop of a series of similar cases in Kannur district over the previous few days. Police had already arrested five Bangladeshi women alleged to have been living and working in India without valid documents.

One of them, identified as Selina or Salina Akter of Faridpur, Bangladesh, was first detained from a spa near Kannur railway station after intelligence input. Four others — reported as Nazma Akter, 40; Taslima Khatun, 25; Moyna Khatun, 29; and Nasri Bheebi or Nasrin Bibi, 28 — were later taken into custody from rented accommodation at Odenparambu after a court-authorised search. Police said they recovered Bangladeshi identity cards and alleged fake Indian documents from them.

Officials said the women had been working at spa establishments in the city. During interrogation, they reportedly indicated that some of the documents had been obtained in Assam before they travelled to Kerala. Cases against them were registered under the Immigration and Foreigners Act.

Questions now before investigators

The six detentions in about four days have drawn attention to the verification of migrant and contract labour in Kannur, including at defence-linked locations. Police are trying to trace how identity documents were procured and whether intermediaries helped arrange travel, accommodation and employment. Those claims have not yet been tested in court.

The man detained at the Indian Naval Academy is expected to be produced before a magistrate. Further statements from the Navy and Kannur police are likely to determine the exact charges and whether the inquiry widens beyond illegal stay and forgery-related offences.