Kannur, September 20, 2026 — Kerala Police have taken into custody a 32-year-old man identified as a Bangladeshi national after he was found working as a contract employee at the Indian Naval Academy (INA) in Ezhimala, near Payyannur. The detention, made on Friday, September 18, is the sixth arrest of a Bangladeshi national in Kannur district in about four days and has prompted questions over identity verification for contract staff at a strategically sensitive defence establishment.
The academy is the Indian Navy’s principal officer-training institution.
Police and local reports identify the man as Biplob Soren, also rendered in some accounts as Biplab 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 yet to confirm whether the name used was genuine and that further inquiry would follow after he was taken into custody.
According to preliminary information, he had worked for about a year in the academy’s laundry section as a temporary or contract worker, presenting himself as an Indian citizen. Reports state that he did not possess valid travel documents or a visa. Investigators recovered what they describe as a fake Aadhaar card in the name Biplab/Biplob Soren and a police clearance certificate purportedly issued by Murshidabad police in West Bengal. Documents and other material on his mobile phone, found during questioning, indicated Bangladeshi nationality, officials told multiple outlets.
Naval authorities reportedly became suspicious of his conduct, placed him under observation, and questioned him on Friday morning. After verification, he was handed over to Payyannur police at about 8:15 p.m. Payyannur Sub-Inspector Shuhaib effected the arrest on the instructions of Circle Inspector Mahesh K. Nair. Some reports said intelligence inputs also preceded the detention. When contacted, INA officials declined to comment.
Police have not publicly disclosed the contractor or agency through which he was engaged, nor have they stated that his presence constituted a confirmed security threat. Investigators are examining how he obtained forged papers, how he secured employment inside the campus, and whether background checks required for work at a high-security site were carried out. No official finding of espionage has been announced. The case remains under investigation.
Related arrests in Kannur
The Ezhimala detention followed a cluster of cases in the same district. Over the preceding days, Kannur police arrested five Bangladeshi women alleged to have stayed and worked in India without valid documents. One, identified as Selina or Salina Akter of Faridpur, Bangladesh, was first detained from a spa near Kannur railway station after intelligence information. 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 recovered Bangladeshi identity cards and alleged fake Indian documents. Officials said the women had worked at spa establishments in the city and, in interrogation, indicated that some documents had been obtained in Assam before they travelled to Kerala. Cases were registered under the Immigration and Foreigners Act.
What remains unresolved
The coincidence of six detentions in four days has focused attention on verification of migrant and contract labour in Kannur, including at defence-linked sites. Police have indicated they are tracing how identity documents were procured and whether intermediaries arranged movement, shelter, and jobs. Those allegations have not yet been tested in court.
The man detained at Ezhimala is expected to be produced before a magistrate. Further official statements from the Navy and the Kannur police will determine the precise charges and whether the inquiry widens beyond illegal stay and use of forged identity papers.
