A Bangladeshi woman named Shanta Paul, who worked as a small-time model and food vlogger, was arrested in Kolkata this week for using fake Indian identity documents. These included two Aadhaar cards, a voter ID, and a ration card. Shanta, 28, was also a crew member for Regent Airways, a Bangladeshi airline. She had entered India legally a few months ago with a valid passport. After arriving, she first rented a place in Kolkata’s Park Street area, and later moved to a flat in Bikramgarh, located in the southern part of the city.
According to police, Shanta got in touch with an agent who helped her get fake Indian documents. These documents showed that she was living in India and had Indian citizenship. Using these, she allegedly started a car rental business by pretending to be a local resident.
Reportedly, Paul has won several modelling contests in Bangladesh and had been living at a rented apartment in Bijoygarh, Jadavpur, since 2023. According to investigators, she frequently shifted addresses and lived under different identities. Her involvement in the app-cab business reportedly brought her under the scanner.
She was caught in Bikramgarh in connection with a cheating case. During their investigation, Kolkata Police found two Aadhaar cards (with different addresses: one from East Burdwan and another from Kolkata), along with a voter ID and a ration card. A case of cheating and criminal conspiracy has been registered against her.
Shanta ran a food blog on Facebook where she regularly shared videos about food and her daily life. Her last video was posted on July 28. According to police, these social media posts were part of a carefully planned act to make herself look like an Indian citizen.
During the investigation, police found that Shanta wanted to travel to several foreign countries, but due to limitations in Bangladesh, she couldn’t. That’s why she came to India and used fake Indian documents to try and travel abroad. She reportedly used the address of her rented flat in Kolkata to make a fake ration card.
Police are now trying to identify the people who helped her get these documents. Officers also told PTI that her social media account included photos where she accused a man of holding both an Aadhaar card and proof of being a Bangladeshi, possibly to mislead or divert attention from herself.
In 2019, Paul participated in the Miss Asia Global competition held in Kerala. In earlier media interviews in North Bengal, she said she was working in Bengali and Telugu films.
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