Kolkata: The West Bengal government has moved ahead with a controversial policy to establish “holding centres” in every district for people suspected of being illegal immigrants, a step that significantly expands detention powers and raises concerns about the treatment of vulnerable communities, particularly Bengali-speaking Muslims and Rohingya refugees, IANS reported.
Under the new directive, individuals suspected of being Bangladeshi nationals or Rohingyas can be detained for up to 30 days while authorities verify their citizenship status. The centres will also house foreign nationals released from prisons and those awaiting deportation proceedings. Instructions for setting up the facilities have been issued to district administrations, police authorities and senior state officials across West Bengal.
The move follows the implementation of the BJP government’s “detect, delete and deport” policy, which seeks to identify, detain and expel undocumented migrants. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has defended the measure as part of enforcing laws that, according to him, were not implemented by the previous Trinamool Congress administration.
The policy is rooted in guidelines issued by the Union Home Ministry in May 2025, which authorised the creation of holding centres and empowered authorities to detain individuals suspected of lacking Indian citizenship pending document verification. District magistrates have been vested with the authority to make final determinations on citizenship status.
The Centre has also directed states to create district-level Special Task Forces to identify undocumented migrants and facilitate deportation. Those ultimately classified as illegal immigrants will have their biometric data collected, uploaded to a central database and be blacklisted from re-entering India. In certain situations, border or coast guard authorities may directly remove detainees after completion of formalities.