Bhubaneswar: At least 28 suspected Bangladeshi infiltrators were detained following late-night operations conduced by the police in Jagatsinghpur and Bhadrak districts as the crackdown on intruders intensified in Odisha.
Police sources said over 20 suspected Bangladeshis were detained in Jagatsinghpur, police caught eight other alleged illegal settlers in Bhadrak amid the ongoing verification drives across coastal settlements.
In Jagatsinghpur, the operation was conducted in Tarikunda and Dariapur villages under the jurisdiction of Sadar police station late Tuesday night. Senior officers, including Additional SP and SDPO, led the operation around midnight as police searched several clusters based on intelligence inputs.
Besides searching residential settlements, the police team also inspected a madrasa, where several suspected foreign nationals were believed to be staying. At least 20 persons were taken into custody for verification, while information from the spot suggested that more than 10 others fled before the arrival of police. The detained individuals have been taken to a cyclone shelter at Bagalpur in Biridi for further probe.
Police had earlier conducted similar checks in the Beherampur slum and the locality behind Tarikunda College. During the raid in Beherampur, a large cache of weapons was seized. Investigators had found that a man identified as Sikandar Alam had brought several suspected Bangladeshis to the area and provided them shelter.
In a similar operation carried out in Bhadrak district, eight more suspected Bangladeshi infiltrators were detained in Basudevpur area.
Bhadrak Superintendent of Police Manoj Rout visited the local police station to supervise the verification process and reviewed identity documents produced by the detainees. Officers questioned the individuals on their place of origin, the localities where they had been staying, and the nature of work they were engaged in.
As per data, Basudevpur has reported the highest concentration of Bangladeshi nationals in Bhadrak, prompting periodic checks. Previous rounds of verification had led to the detention of several suspects.
During earlier raids, more than 30 suspected Bangladeshi infiltrators had been detained for verification. After verification, 20 of them were confirmed to be Bangladeshi nationals and subsequently sent back to their country.
