Delhi Police send teams to Assam, West Bengal to verify identities of ‘illegal’ Bangladeshi immigrants

The move comes after the Delhi Lieutenant Governor ordered an intensive drive on the issue

Continuing its action against “illegal” Bangladeshi immigrants in the Capital, the Delhi Police sent multiple teams to districts in Assam and West Bengal to verify documents of individuals whose nationalities they are doubtful of.

The move comes after the Delhi Lieutenant Governor (L-G) ordered an intensive drive against “illegal” Bangladeshi immigrants living in the Capital on December 11, and directed the Chief Secretary and the police chief to launch a two-month special drive to identify and take strict action against such persons. This has caused a political upheaval where the BJP has accused the AAP of being voted to power by the “illegal” Bangladeshi immigrants; while the AAP has accused the BJP-ruled Centre’s inability to control such movement from the Bangladesh border.

Following the order, the police have now sent teams to multiple districts in West Bengal and Assam to verify the claims of those individuals they detained on suspicion.

“Before we send anyone for deportation, we are sending teams to their self-declared home States to check their documents and claims,” a senior Delhi Police official said.

He added that teams are visiting Nadia, Medinipur, Coochbehar in West Bengal and Goalpara in Assam to verify the documents and claims of the suspected individuals.

The police, since the Delhi L-G’s orders, have been visiting slums in Delhi’s Kalindi Kunj, Shaheen Bagh, Hazrat Nizamuddin and Jamia Nagar to check voter IDs and Aadhaar cards to identify suspected “illegal” Bangladeshi immigrants.

A senior police officer told The Hindu that multiple police teams had been formed in each district to visit JJ colonies, labour chowks and unauthorised colonies to identify houses where migrant workers live.

“We have made lists of such slums and unauthorised colonies where a large number of residents are migrants. Subsequently we send officers to go door-to-door in such stretches to ask for documents. Whoever seems doubtful is interrogated further and their documents verified,” said the officer.

Held from Sarojini Nagar

On Tuesday, another person was arrested from southwest Delhi’s Sarojini Nagar area, who allegedly did not possess any documents to prove his Indian citizenship.

“On sustained interrogation it was found that the accused, Md. Akhtar Sheikh, had “illegally” entered India from Madarganj, Kochaghata in Bangladesh in 2004, and moved to Delhi in search of work. On secret enquiry it was learnt that he left his job as a construction worker and was trying to flee, said a senior Delhi Police officer.

The accused was arrested by the police from a railway station near Sarojini Nagar.

As of now, the Delhi Police have screened close to 5,000 people and have sent over 30 people for deportation to the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO).

Published - December 31, 2024 08:31 pm IST