Assam Police arrested 17 Bangladeshi nationals in Guwahati on Oct. 7, 2026, after they entered India through Dawki in Meghalaya and settled at a city hotel.
The first group of five was seized from the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Express on Tuesday near Paltan Bazar railway station, where routine checks revealed their foreign passports.
A detainee confessed the address of the hotel, leading police to a Pan Bazar location where CCTV footage confirmed their stay, and a case was registered at the Pan Bazar Police Station.
The remaining 13 were apprehended on Wednesday during a raid on another Guwahati hotel, a facility owned by Amitrai Doimari and managed by Vikas Paul and Ranjan Dhar.
Investigators say the group had lived in Srinagar for 10 to 15 years before moving back to Guwahati, looking for a network to facilitate their exit to Bangladesh.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations) Kulendra Nath Deka said the expulsion process is underway under the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act; once a formal order is issued by the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Kamrup Metropolitan, the 17 nationals will be deported.
Authorities are probing the alleged network that sheltered the foreigners, with Hazrat Ali cited as the main facilitator who transported them from the station to the hotel.