Efforts to trace, deport illegal Bangladeshi immigrants intensify
NEW DELHI: The Delhi police have stepped up their drive to identify and deport Bangladeshi nationals who are illegally staying in the city. Police teams in 15 districts have been directed to investigate and identify such nationals, following a directive from Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena. During the past week, seven Bangladeshi nationals were found to be staying illegally in Delhi without any valid Indian documents.
Among these, six have already been sent back to Bangladesh. The remaining individual is being detained in Shahjahanabad at the Sarai Rohilla detention centre and is also due to be deported soon.
Police officials have found hotspots of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in Seemapuri, Bawana, Bhalswa Dairy, Jamia Nagar, Shaheen Bagh, Jaitpur, Okhla, Sangam Vihar, Govindpuri, Noor Nagar, and Shastri Park. Investigations are being carried out to know how and when they entered India and how they obtained fake Indian documents such as Aadhaar, voter ID, and PAN cards.
A senior official said lists were being prepared, complete with photographs, of people who had secured such forged documents.
Police were contacting the authorities in their home districts in Bangladesh to establish where the documents came from. Their Indian fake documents will be cancelled once they are authenticated, but it’s a slow process and demands detailed investigation.
Thousands of Bangladeshi nationals have been identified in Delhi over the years. Before 2003, illegal immigrants were detained and deported to Bangladesh through trains like the Lal Quila Express.
However, during this period, men were normally deported while women and children were left behind.
This partial deportation resulted in petitions in the Delhi High Court, which decided that if there is sufficient evidence proving the families’ Bangladeshi citizenship, then the entire family must be deported. After this ruling, the deportation operations became quite slow.
The current crackdown marks a renewed push to address the issue. Police have already prepared a comprehensive list of individuals suspected to be Bangladeshi nationals, including those with forged Indian documents. The focus now is on expediting investigations and taking decisive action to deport illegal immigrants while ensuring compliance with legal protocols.
