Nine illegal Bangladeshi nationals, including three children, detained in Delhi

New Delhi: Delhi Police has in two separate operations apprehended nine Bangladeshi nationals, including three minors, residing illegally in different locations of the national capital, officials on Thursday said.

Earlier on May 25, a crime branch team detained four Bangladeshi nationals from the Narela area as part of a crackdown on illegal migrants in vulnerable localities and roadside settlements.

Based on sustained ground-level intelligence, the team apprehended Hafijul (19), Mominul (21), Shamim (22) and Inamul (38) -- all residents of Khudigram and Nakeshwari districts in Bangladesh -- who failed to produce valid documents, a police officer said.

They revealed during questioning that they they had entered India illegally during childhood along with their parents, who later returned to Bangladesh, police said.

The four men, who were found staying on roadsides without any identity documents from either country, remained in India without legal authorisation and moved across cities like Bahadurgarh, Sonipat, Khurja, Mahendragarh, Ghaziabad, Behraor and Delhi in search of work, avoiding detection, they said.

Separately, the east district police on Wednesday apprehended five Bangladeshi nationals -- a couple and their three minor children -- from the Anand Vihar area.

The detained, identified as Md Shaheen (30), his wife Rujeena (26) and their children aged 14, 9 and 4 years, are residents of Shimulbari village in Bangladesh, police said.

They had entered India illegally through unauthorised riverine routes and were residing in east Delhi without valid documents, they said.

The detained failed to establish their Indian nationality during interrogation and digital evidence recovered from their mobile phones confirmed their Bangladeshi identity, they said.

"All nine are currently lodged in detention centres and will be deported. Further investigations are underway," an officer said.

A special drive was launched on November 19 last year to identify and act against illegal immigrants.

So far, 20 Bangladeshi nationals have been deported from east district.