How did Bangladeshi porn star Riya Barde end up in legal trouble in India?
Thane police have arrested eight Bangladeshi women from Thane district in separate cases for staying illegally in India. Among those apprehended is porn star Riya Arvind Barde, who was found living with forged documents in Ambernath town.
Seven of the women were arrested from Navi Mumbai. Acting on a tip-off, a team from the NRI police station conducted a raid at a residential premises in Karave village, Navi Mumbai, on Tuesday evening. The officers found the women residing in two rooms without valid documentation.
The accused, who worked as domestic helpers, entered India illegally and were living in rented accommodations in the village, as reported by officials from the NRI police station. A case has been registered against them under the provisions of the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1950, and the Foreigners Act.
Riya Barde's Arrest: A Detailed Investigation
In a separate incident, police arrested Riya Barde on Thursday. She had been living in Ambernath with bogus documents. The Hill Line police station in Ulhasnagar acted on a tip-off from a man who alerted authorities about her status as a Bangladeshi national and her involvement in a cheating and forgery case.
Sub-inspector Sangram Malkar confirmed that an FIR has been registered against Riya Barde under IPC sections related to cheating, forgery, and common intention, in addition to the Foreigners Act. The cheating and forgery case was recorded before the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) came into effect on July 1, 2024.
Police Pursue Accomplices
Authorities are also searching for four accomplices of Riya Barde, who were involved in the cheating and forgery case. Police reports indicate that over a year ago, they received a complaint and subsequently questioned Barde about her credentials to verify her status as an Indian citizen.
Conspiracy and Document Forgery
The investigation revealed that Barde conspired to obtain a school transfer certificate from Bangladesh for one of her accomplices and a birth certificate from the North 24 Parganas district in West Bengal. Using these forged documents, they secured education credentials and passports for the other accused.
When Barde's documents were sent for verification, it emerged that her birth certificate, school leaving certificate, and passport listed three different places of birth—North 24 Parganas, Hooghly (both in West Bengal), and Achalpur in Maharashtra's Amravati district. The police have stated that the accused fabricated these documents and lived in India illegally.
With PTI inputs