New Delhi: Odisha and other states across the country have launched a major crackdown on Bangladeshi nationals staying illegally in India. Odisha is taking particular care as it has a boundary with West Bengal that shared the longest border with Bangladesh.
Most illegal Bangladeshi immigrants cross over to West Bengal before moving to other states in the country with bogus identity documents.
Odisha’s law minister Prithiviraj Harichandan had said on Monday said the state government has issued a direction to all district collectors, coastal security agencies and formed a Special Task Force (STF) to coordinate the process of identifying the undocumented Bangladeshi immigrants.
“The government has taken a tough stand. No foreign national without valid legal status will be allowed to stay in Odisha. The identification process has already begun and will be carried out meticulously in all districts,” he had said.
All agencies and departments that hire migrant labourers have been asked to verify credentials before employing people.
The districts of Balasore, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Puri and Ganjam have been identified as possible areas housing illegal migrants.
A similar drive has been launched by the Maharashtra government with the Mumbai Police saying that 300 illegal Bangladeshis have been deported in recent times. The police have claimed that 766 illegal Bangladeshis have been arrested this year.
According to officials, 18 lakh ration cards were cancelled till May 18. Most of those holding these ration cards are suspected to be illegal Bangladeshi residents. As many as 4.8 lakh ration cards were cancelled in Mumbai alone.
“Our government will not do injustice to any such family…Our government will not do injustice to anyone except Bangladeshi infiltrators. Action will be taken against those who are eligible for action, the general public will not be harassed,” Maharashtra minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule told the media.
India has adopted a new “push back” strategy to tackle infiltration from Bangladesh, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told reporters earlier this month. He said the Centre has deported illegal immigrants, including Rohingyas, from different parts of the country, including from the Matia detention centre in Goalpara – one of the largest facilities in the country housing illegal immigrants.
Sarma said that the ‘big issue’ or illegal immigration has been controlled through the new “push back” policy.
“Earlier, we used to arrest 1,000-1,500 foreigners. We used to arrest them, and they would be sent to jails, and then they would be produced before a court of law. Now, we have decided that we will not let them stay in our country and just push them back,” he said.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma has also directed police to launch a campaign against illegal Bangladeshi immigrants and to ensure their deportation.
Subsequently, a first batch of 148 illegal Bangladeshi immigrants rounded up by police was sent to West Bengal on a special flight from Jodhpur, the police confirmed.
“These infiltrators were kept at one of the two detention centres set up in Jaipur. In the first phase of their deportation, 148 have been sent to Jodhpur and dispatched for West Bengal for final deportation,” an official said.
He claimed that 1,008 “illegal immigrants” have been detained in the exercise so far from 17 districts of Rajasthan.
