LUCKNOW, July 7 -- A special NIA/ATS court in Lucknow on Monday sentenced 15 members of an international human trafficking syndicate, including 13 Bangladeshi nationals and two Rohingya, to five years' rigorous imprisonment each for illegally entering India, obtaining forged Indian identity documents and facilitating cross-border human trafficking. The conviction follows an investigation by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which had initially arrested eight accused on October 26, 2021, for illegal infiltration, possession of forged Indian documents and human trafficking. During the course of the investigation, ATS unearthed a larger international network and identified seven more accused. All were subsequently arrested and charge-sheeted before the court. According to the ATS, the syndicate operated across the India-Bangladesh border, illegally facilitating the entry of Bangladeshi nationals into India. The accused allegedly arranged forged Indian identity documents, including Aadhaar and other records, to establish them as Indian citizens. Investigators said the forged documents were then used to obtain Indian passports, enabling trafficked Bangladeshi nationals to travel to foreign countries under false identities. Based on the evidence collected during the investigation and the prosecution presented by the ATS, the Special NIA/ATS Court found all 15 accused guilty of offences.HTC...