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29-04-2025
Bureau Report + Agencies
NEW DELHI/ AHMEDABAD: Gujarat Police have detained 1,024 Bangladeshi migrants including women and children in a sweeping crackdown in the western state aimed at deporting people living there illegally.
The central government often describes undocumented Bangladeshi immigrants as “infiltrators”, accusing them of posing a threat to the country’s security. “Police forces collectively detained 1,024 illegal Bangladeshi nationals during an overnight operation,” the Gujarat government said in a statement on Saturday.
At least 890 Bangladeshis were detained in Ahmedabad and 134 in Surat with Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi terming it as the biggest operation of its kind by the police to date. Sanghavi warned illegal immigrants residing in Gujarat to surrender before the police on their own accord, or else they will be nabbed and deported.
He also warned of legal action against people providing shelter to illegal immigrants. Sanghavi said the detainees used fake documents obtained from West Bengal to stay in different parts of India before coming to Gujarat.
The minister said, “many of these people are involved with drug cartels, human trafficking, and as we saw how two out of the four Bangladeshis arrested recently worked in sleeper cells of Al Qaeda. A probe will be conducted into the background of these Bangladeshis and their activities in Gujarat.” He said arrangements were made “to complete all the procedures for their deportation as soon as possible”.
“We will also investigate fake documents they used to reach different parts of the country and Gujarat, and action will be taken against those who created the fake documents,” he added.
Police are also investigating a network based in West Bengal state for producing counterfeit identity documents. Following legal procedures, the detained individuals will be deported to Bangladesh, the statement said. The minister said that West Bengal would be provided with proof of how the detainees got fake documents made in the state.
Sanghavi said the police have been instructed to take action against illegal immigrants across Gujarat, and a clear order has been given to Pakistani nationals to leave Gujarat as per the decision taken at the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security.
Director General of Police (DGP) Vikas Sahay said the detainees were being questioned, and their nationality was being established based on documentary and other evidence. “Once the police establish that they are Bangladeshi nationals, the process of their deportation will be carried out at the earliest in coordination with the Central government and Border Security Force (BSF),” he said.
Sahay said the operation was conducted simultaneously in Ahmedabad and Surat around 3 am on Saturday. Initial investigations have revealed that the detainees were involved in narcotics, human trafficking, and other illegal activities, police said.
Lax border controls have ensured the entry of millions of Bangladeshi nationals into India over the years. Relations between India and Bangladesh have nosedived since a revolution in Dhaka last August ousted leader Sheikh Hasina, who was a long-term New Delhi ally. Hasina, who fled to India, has defied extradition requests from Bangladesh to face charges including mass murder.
Following the crackdown, Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi held a video conference with senior police officials and instructed them “to intensify the operation and thoroughly investigate all activities of Bangladeshis and take strict action wherever needed,” the government had said in a statement.
