Overview
- Shanta Pal was remanded to police custody until August 8 following a cheating and criminal conspiracy FIR filed on July 28.
- Detective units seized two Aadhaar cards, an Indian voter ID, a ration card and multiple Bangladeshi travel documents from her Jadavpur flat.
- Kolkata Police have contacted the Election Commission and the State Food Department in addition to UIDAI to verify the authenticity of the documents.
- Investigators suspect a wider forgery network facilitated her use of fake Indian papers to run a car rental business and plan overseas travel after overstaying a legal entry in 2023.
- Her arrest has fuelled debate over illegal migration, voter rolls and border control in West Bengal, where political leaders clash over migrant treatment.