India, July 10 -- Fifteen of the individuals arrested as part of Operation Hard Ball - the US crackdown on three India-linked organised crime networks - were living in the country illegally at the time of their arrest. The indictment against the Bhagwanpuria enterprise - one of the networks - separately alleges that its recruitment coordinators in India specifically targeted potential members eligible to apply for student or foreign work visas.

The disclosures put renewed focus on illegal immigration and the misuse of legal immigration pathways by Indian nationals - a persistent political flashpoint in the US, and one that has sharpened under the Trump administration's wider immigration crackdown.

The revelations build on this week's un...