Murshidabad/Malda: Within 48 hours of a West Bengal government directive, district authorities have operationalised the state’s first “holding centres” for suspected illegal immigrants, primarily Bangladeshi nationals and members of the Rohingya community, officials said.
The centres in Murshidabad’s Bahadurpur area and Malda’s Chandan Park started receiving detainees over the weekend as the state stepped up measures to identify and expedite deportations.
Three Detained At Murshidabad Centre
According to The Indian Express, police and administration inspected a building near Murshidabad’s Lalgola market before declaring it a holding centre on Sunday.
Three people — suspected illegal immigrants from Bangladesh — were picked up from the Bhagabangola and Lalgola police station areas, and police along with civic volunteers have been assigned to staff the facility, the report added.
“Proper arrangements have been made for food and water. Further investigation is on regarding the three,” a district officer said.
Malda Facility: Layered Security In Place
In Malda, the first migrant holding centre at Chandan Park in English Bazar began functioning after nine suspected Bangladeshi nationals — three women and six children — were brought from Gazole’s Pandua area on Sunday, officials told PTI.
Senior district police officers told the news agency that the Chandan Park facility is under layered security, with CCTV cameras, 12 police personnel, civil defence staff and civic volunteers on duty, and has provisions for food and upkeep. “The facility has been created to temporarily accommodate foreign nationals detained on charges of illegal entry or lack of valid documents,” one officer said.
Order, Process & Timeline
The move follows an order dated May 23 from the state Home and Hill Affairs Department’s Foreigners’ Branch directing all district administrations to establish “holding centres” for “apprehended foreigners” and “released foreign prisoners awaiting deportation or repatriation.”
The state order cites a Union Home Ministry procedure that allows suspected illegal entrants to be held for up to 30 days while their nationality and documents are checked. Officials must seek name, parentage, residential address and next of kin; if no confirming report arrives within 30 days, the Foreigners’ Registration Officer can start deportation steps. If people are confirmed as illegal migrants, police collect their biometrics and hand them over to the Border Security Force or Coast Guard for repatriation.
Political Context
On May 20, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said the state would follow a “detect, delete and deport” policy for illegal Bangladeshis. “Those who are outside the purview of the CAA are infiltrators and will be arrested by the state police and handed over to the BSF,” he said. The move follows the BJP’s election promise to curb illegal immigration; the party has also offered land to the BSF for border fencing, saying the previous TMC government had delayed the work.
