To escape the wrath of extremists, Bangladeshi ‘free-thinking’ vlogger Mufti Abdullah Al Masud came to India in 2018 with a valid visa. But the visa expired in 2020. Even after that, he did not return to his country. After living in India with an expired visa for almost five years, West Bengal Police arrested Masud from Gayeshpur in Nadia district.
Masud, a resident of Bangladesh, used to upload video content on the philosophy of atheism on his own YouTube channel. By doing this, he invited the wrath of extremists in his own country and even received death threats. To save his life, he moved from Bangladesh to India in 2018 with valid documents.
According to administration sources, Masud’s visa expired in 2020. But even then, he did not return to Bangladesh. He had been staying in different places in West Bengal. Recently, the vlogger was staying at the Gayeshpur residence of the headmaster of a primary school in Nadia’s Chakdaha. The police had been looking for him for quite some time. According to sources, after learning about Masud’s current address, the police arrested him and took him to Gayeshpur outpost of Kalyani police station. There, he was questioned several times. Later, a team of state police, CID and central intelligence teams went there.
The police gave Masud 24 hours’ time to show a valid residence permit or proof of citizenship in India, but the vlogger failed to produce one following which he was arrested on Monday. A case has been registered under the Immigration and Foreigners Act. The police are also questioning the vlogger’s landlord. Local residents claim that many people from Bangladesh used to stay in that same rented house. The police are trying to trace them too.
What is the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025?
The Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, is a consolidated law that replaced four outdated acts and came into effect on September 1, 2025. It regulates the entry, stay, and exit of foreigners in India, enhances national security through measures like biometric data collection and an Integrated Immigration Management System, and introduces stricter penalties for violations, such as using forged documents. The Act centralizes authority with the central government while allowing for delegation to states, and it requires institutions like hotels and universities to report details about foreigners.
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