Afghan National’s Illegal Stay Case Leads to Arrests in Malbazar, Matelli Over Alleged Fake Birth Certificate

Accused Prasenjit Dutta

KalimNews, Sept 24, 2026, Kalimpong: The investigation into the alleged illegal stay of an Afghan national in Kalimpong has led police to Malbazar and Matelli in Jalpaiguri district, where two persons have been arrested for their alleged roles in preparing and facilitating a fake birth certificate reportedly used by the foreign national.

The arrested persons have been identified as Prasenjit Dutta, alias Babai, a clerk of Mal Municipality, and Assam Khan, an alleged tout from the Matelli area. Their arrests are linked to the September 18 arrest of 28-year-old Afghan national Sayed Bilal Khan, who was apprehended from a rented house near the Chest Clinic in Kalimpong.

According to the investigating team, Kalimpong Police first conducted a raid in the Malbazar Police Station area during the course of the investigation and arrested Dutta. During questioning, he allegedly revealed that the fake birth certificate of the Afghan national Khan had been prepared with the assistance of a tout operating in the Matelli area.

Acting on the information allegedly provided by Dutta, police carried out a subsequent raid in Matelli and arrested Assam Khan. Investigators allege that Khan facilitated the preparation of the fake birth certificate.

Accused Assam Khan

Police are examining how the alleged fraudulent document was prepared and subsequently obtained by Khan, and how it was used to support his identity and stay as a tenant in Kalimpong. Investigators are also looking into whether other people were involved in the alleged documentation chain.

Khan, a resident of Patkika in Yusuf Khel, Kabul, Afghanistan, had reportedly entered India around three months before his arrest. Police allege that he entered the country without valid documents permitting his stay and without passing through an authorised immigration checkpoint. He initially stayed in Siliguri before moving to Kalimpong, where he took rented accommodation in the Haat Bazar area near the Chest Clinic.

The investigation has reportedly indicated that Khan was staying as a tenant while allegedly producing identity documents that included Aadhar Card, PAN card and a fake birth certificate procured through the Malbazar connection. Police subsequently booked him under relevant legal provisions concerning unlawful entry and foreign overstay and produced him before the Learned Court.

As part of the ongoing investigation, Kalimpong Police also brought Sayed Bilal Khan to Malbazar while pursuing the alleged documentation trail. During his presence in Malbazar, Khan reportedly fell ill unexpectedly. He was initially taken to Mangalbari for medical attention and was subsequently shifted to Malbazar Super Speciality Hospital for further treatment. After receiving medical care, he was discharged from the hospital a short while later.

Following his discharge, Kalimpong Police, accompanied by personnel from Malbazar Police Station, transported Khan and the two newly arrested accused persons back to Kalimpong. The three accused were taken in two vehicles under police escort for further investigation and legal proceedings.

Police have also stated that Dutta had previously been arrested in connection with a similar case and had been suspended from his municipal service.

The latest arrests have widened the investigation beyond Khan's alleged illegal stay to the suspected local network that may have facilitated the creation and supply of documents used by him. Investigators are now seeking to establish the complete chain of persons involved and determine whether the alleged operation extended beyond the two men arrested in Malbazar and Matelli.

All the arrested persons are being brought to Kalimpong Police Station and are scheduled to be produced before the Learned Court on September 24. Further investigation is in progress.

The case has also emerged amid heightened scrutiny of unauthorised movement and documentation in the wider region. 

Earlier, another Afghan national was reportedly apprehended in the Khoribari area of Darjeeling district while allegedly attempting to cross the India-Nepal international border, along with a suspected Indian associate.

These developments have drawn attention to the security sensitivities of the Siliguri Corridor, the strategically important land link connecting northeastern India with the rest of the country. Its proximity to Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and China makes identity verification, immigration compliance and monitoring of movement important areas of law-enforcement attention.

The investigation into the alleged fake birth certificate, the circumstances surrounding Khan's stay in Kalimpong and the involvement of the arrested individuals remains ongoing. Further details are expected to emerge as investigators examine the alleged documentation trail and any possible involvement of additional persons.

(Photo source and courtesy: News MalBazar and ETv Bharat)