Bhubaneswar: Amid nationwide crackdown on illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, the Odisha government on Monday designated a Special Task Force (STF) of Odisha Crime Branch (CB) under the supervision of DIG Pinak Mishra as the nodal agency for identifying such settlers in the state.
Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan said the government has already initiated the process to identify Bangladeshis staying illegally in different districts of the state. “No foreign national without valid documents will be allowed to stay in Odisha. Different engineering departments of the state government have asked to ensure that the recruiting agencies avoid engaging such Bangladeshi or foreign nationals. The government has taken a strong stance in this regard,” Harichandan told reporters here.
He added that direction has been issued to all district collectors, coastal security agencies and a Special Task Force has been formed to coordinate the identification process.
According to reports, the STF has located a large number of such illegal settlers in Khurda, Cuttack, Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur, Balasore, Bhadrak, Ganjam and Puri districts.
“The STF is closely monitoring the situation. Recently, we apprehended 10 illegal Bangladeshi immigrants and registered a case. Since we have a long coastline, we are very watchful and coordinating with multiple agencies, including marine and coast police, to identify illegal Bangladeshi immigrants” DIG Special Task Force Pinak Mishra told ANI.
He said that such illegal immigrants may enter Odisha through waterways or from bordering West Bengal. “We are keeping a close watch on the identified hotspots,” he added.
In a crime control review meeting on Sunday, Bhubaneswar DCP Jagmohan Meena instructed all police stations to gather detailed data on undocumented foreigners, particularly Bangladeshi nationals, and take appropriate legal action. He emphasised the need to investigate how these individuals entered Bhubaneswar, their activities, and whether they possess valid documents.
Illegal Bangladeshi residents will face immediate arrest and either deportation or transfer to the Bangladesh Embassy.
In March, 10 illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, including six men, three women and a juvenile, were from Bhubaneswar railway station here. Following which, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi informed the Assembly that nearly 3700-3800 illegal Bangladeshi immigrants have been identified across the state and 41 famong them aced criminal cases in the past 10 year.
“Kendrapada has the highest number of infiltrators at 1649, followed by 1112 in Jagatsinghpur, 655 in Malkangiri, 199 in Bhadrak, 106 in Nabarangpur, and 17 in Bhubaneswar,” he added.
