Gujarat Police have detained more than 1,000 illegal Bangladeshi migrants, including women and children, during separate operations carried out in Ahmedabad and Surat.
The crackdown was launched on the directives of State Home Minister Harsh Sanghvi, targeting Bangladeshi nationals residing illegally in the state.
In Ahmedabad, the police detained around 890 Bangladeshis, while Surat’s police force arrested more than 134, the minister said. The arrested illegal migrants include men, women as well as children, with operations targeting various areas across the two cities.
“A historic success has been achieved in nabbing illegal Bangladeshis. As many as 890 illegal immigrants were caught by the Ahmedabad police and 134 by the Surat police. This is the biggest operation of the Gujarat Police against people living illegally in the state,” Sanghavi said.
The minister also warned of legal action against people providing shelter to illegal immigrants. According to Sanghavi, the detainees used fake documents obtained from West Bengal to stay in different parts of India before coming to Gujarat.
“Many of these people are involved with drug cartels, human trafficking, and as we saw, 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. “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.”
The operation in Surat was carried out by 8 to 10 teams comprising personnel from various police departments, working in coordination to apprehend the suspects.
The search operation, which began late last night and continued into the early hours of the morning, led to the detention of over 100 Bangladeshi nationals in Surat alone.
These individuals were found to be residing illegally in different areas of the city. Following their detention, they were brought to the Surat Police Headquarters, where their mobile phones were seized, and interrogation procedures were initiated.
“A coordinated effort by several teams helped identify the illegal immigrants. The arrested individuals are currently undergoing interrogation to confirm their identities. Once their details are verified, they will be swiftly deported back to Bangladesh,” Surat Police’s Joint Commissioner, Raghvendra Vats said.