The two Bangladeshis arrested in Jagachha, Howrah, on Saturday had helped more than 50 persons enter India with forged passports. The duo also helped them settle in various parts of the country, including Delhi and Mumbai.

Mohammad Raja and Mohammad Zakir gave the sleuths an address in Delhi where they claimed they had stayed before coming to Calcutta. The address has been found to be false.

“They told us they had spent a couple of weeks in Amar Nagar, near Red Fort. But they have never been there,” said the superintendent of police (Howrah), Niraj Kumar Singh.

Raja and Zakir were picked up from the house of Sheikh Samsuddin in Sultanpur, Jagachha. They had been staying in the house since June 17, the day they reached Calcutta from Delhi by train.

They had put up in Samsuddin’s house during their earlier visits to the city, too. Samsuddin has been arrested on charges of helping the duo.

The sleuths examined the call statements of a SIM card that was seized from the two. “They had called several people in other states. We will examine all those who were contacted by them,” said Singh.

The three passports that were found on the duo have been tampered with. “The original pictures were removed and new photographs pasted,” said an officer working on the case.

“In Bangladesh, they would first distribute forged passports to those who wanted to enter India illegally. After helping them cross over, they would take back the passports and return to Bangladesh. The photographs in the passports would again be replaced and the documents distributed to a new set of people,” the officer added.

The CID will examine Raja and Zakir in a couple of days. “We are not yet sure whether they were involved in any subversive activities,” said Rajeev Kumar, deputy inspector-general (operations), CID.