A Bangladeshi transgender who had been living in India for the last 30 years using fake documents was arrested on Thursday in Mumbai.

The accused, Babu Ayan Khan, also known as Jyoti and widely called 'Guru Maa', is accused of trafficking 200 Bangladeshi nationals into India, and officials say this number could rise as the Mumbai Police investigation continues.

Jyoti had reinvented herself in Mumbai as a spiritual leader for the trans community, adopting the name Guru Maa. She reportedly had around 300 followers spread across the city.

To pose as an Indian citizen, Guru Maa had obtained a fake birth certificate, Aadhar card, and PAN card. Police verified these documents recently and found them to be forged, which led to her arrest.

Sources said Guru Maa ran a trafficking network that helped people cross into India illegally through the Murshidabad border in West Bengal.

Once inside the country, these individuals were kept in Kolkata for a few days, where fake birth and school-leaving certificates were created for them.

They were then brought to Mumbai and lodged in Shivaji Nagar. Each room reportedly had three to four people, and they were forced to pay a monthly rent of Rs 5000 to Rs 10000 to Guru Maa.

The police probe also revealed that Guru Maa had grabbed flats and huts under the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority.

She reportedly occupied more than 200 houses and earned several lakhs of rupees by renting them out illegally.