The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday raided multiple locations in poll-bound Jharkhand and West Bengal in a money laundering investigation linked to alleged illegal infiltration of Bangladeshi nationals and arrested three persons, official sources said.

Rony Mondal, Sandeep Chowdhary and Pintu Haldar were arrested from West Bengal late at night. They are reported to be touts, they said. A few more arrests are likely.

"Incriminating" items like fake Aadhaar cards, forged passports, illegal arms, immovable property documents, cash, jewellery, printing paper and machines and blank proforma used for forging Aadhaar ID were recovered during the raids carried out at a total of 17 places in the two neighbouring states by the ED's Ranchi office, the federal agency said in a statement.

The action on the eve of the first phase of polling in Jharkhand.

Visuals of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel deployed outside a hotel on Bariatu Road in Ranchi and a resort in the city were captured by press teams as ED teams scoured for documents, ledger entries and financial records inside.

The ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) slammed the BJP-led Centre, alleging that the central agency's action was an attempt to "help the saffron camp establish its Bangladeshi infiltration narrative".

The Congress, an ally of the JMM, also made a similar allegation, saying the raids are not for Bangladeshi infiltrators but a last attempt to save the BJP's political ground in the state.

The searches came after the ED filed a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in September to probe an instance of alleged infiltration and trafficking of some Bangladeshi women into Jharkhand leading to the generation of alleged slush funds.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders have accused the state government of aiding such infiltration, leading to the altering of the demographic landscape of the tribal-dominated areas of Santhal Pargana and Kolhan regions during the assembly poll campaign.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday accused the JMM-led ruling coalition of converting Jharkhand into a 'dharmashala' for Rohingyas and Bangladeshi infiltrators.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced in Seraikela on Monday that if the BJP is voted to power in Jharkhand, then a committee would be formed to identify and drive out infiltrators from the state besides reclaiming land grabbed by them.

Forty-three assembly constituencies in Jharkhand will go to polls in the first phase of the elections on Wednesday while the second phase for 38 seats will be held on November 20.

The ECIR (enforcement case information report) filed by the central agency stems from a Jharkhand Police FIR filed at Bariatu police station in Ranchi in June.

The police FIR, filed on the complaint of a Bangladeshi woman who allegedly infiltrated into the country from the India-Bangladesh border with the help of touts to find work, has named around six women as accused who were arrested following a raid at a local resort.

The woman who filed the complaint escaped from a similar guest house and reached the police station. Police also recovered a "fake" Aadhaar card from one of these women.

Police pressed multiple Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections like 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document) and 34 (common intention) in the FIR.

It also invoked Section 12 of the Passport Act (knowingly furnishing any false information or suppressing any material information with a view to obtaining a passport or travel document) and Section 14A of the Foreigners Act (penalty for entry in restricted area) in the complaint.

The FIR quoted the women complainant as saying that they were trafficked into India from Bangladesh allegedly for prostitution by luring them in the name of getting a job in beauty salons.

ED sources had earlier said the agency will investigate the "entire gamut" of infiltration from across the eastern borders, including Bangladesh, into Jharkhand including in the tribal districts of Santhal Pargana and Kolhan.

Prime Minister Modi, while addressing a poll rally a few months ago, accused the Jharkhand government of encouraging Bangladeshi and Rohingya infiltration for vote bank politics and criticised it for "rampant corruption".

He asserted that these infiltrators pose a significant threat to the state by altering the demographic landscape of the Santhal Pargana and Kolhan regions.

Modi accused the JMM of "supporting infiltrators" and claimed that "illegal immigrants from the neighbouring country have managed to gain influence over the ruling party in the state".

He criticised the Jharkhand government for refusing to acknowledge the infiltration issue despite a high court order to establish an independent panel to investigate the influx of Bangladeshi immigrants.

The Union government had informed the Jharkhand High Court that illegal Bangladeshi immigrants are living in the state.

Reacting to the affidavit, JMM central spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya said if there was infiltration in Jharkhand, the Union home and defence ministries should take responsibility for it.