Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has arrested a Bangladeshi National, residing illegally in Nagpur since over a decade.

He was initially a Buddhist monk and then a gym trainer and also operating a racket to help other Bangladeshi nationals to obtain Indian passport fraudulently, a senior police official told UNI on Saturday.

Identified as Palash Bipan Baruva(40), he was arrested by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Friday, said the official.

The official further said that Baruva had entered India illegally in the guise of a Buddhist monk and later became a gym trainer in Nagpur.

He had been living in Pivali river area at Teka in North Nagpur.

Baruva's illegal activities came to light when two Bangladeshi nationals, Maitri Baruva and Ankon Baruva, were apprehended at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Shamshabad near Hyderabad while trying to board flights to foreign countries using Indian passports, the official said.

Investigation revealed that their passports had been fraudulently obtained on the basis of fake identity documents supplied by Baruva.

Subsequently, the ATS Nagpur closely monitored Baruva's activities and the secret operation spanned over a month, the official said.

Baruva had crossed the Indian border as a Buddhist monk before 2010. He managed to evade law enforcement agencies for around four years by residing in various Buddha Viharas in the city," the official further said.

He then became a gym trainer. He also developed a romantic relationship and travelled to Thailand, he said.

Investigations also unearthed that Baruva's complex network was involved in facilitating the issuance of Indian passports to Bangladeshi nationals.

Even while residing in Nagpur, he maintained active connections with his associates in Bangladesh, aiding numerous illegal border crossings into Nagpur over the past decade," the official further said.

A case was registered against Baruva under sections 420 (cheating), 463 (forgery) 467 (forgery of valuable security) and 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating ) of IPC, the official said adding that further probe was underway.