A day after posting a video in which he stopped a group of sanitation workers in Lucknow’s Gomti Nagar Extension and accused them of being “Bangladeshi infiltrators,” BJP Rajya Sabha MP and former Uttar Pradesh DGP Brij Lal defended his actions, asserting that his background in law enforcement gave him insight into how terrorism operates. He also called for the workers’ deportation.
The video, shared on Lal’s Facebook page on Thursday, shows him questioning five sanitation workers who were standing in a line holding brooms. When the workers explained that they were from various villages in Assam, Lal rejected their statements, alleging that they were actually from Bangladesh and claiming that the country “speaks the language of Pakistan.”
He went on to suggest that allowing such individuals to live among Indian citizens created opportunities for Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the ISI, to spread terrorism. Lal further claimed that the workers had arrived “with the dream of Ghazwa-e-Hind.”
When some of the sanitation workers tried to explain that their names were listed in the National Register of Citizens (NRC), BJP MP Brij Lal reportedly told them to “be quiet” and urged Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to have them deported, describing them as a “threat to the nation.”
In a Facebook post, Lal wrote that during his morning walks in Lucknow’s Gomti Nagar area, he frequently saw “Bangladeshis” engaged in cleaning work. He alleged that although these individuals claimed to be from Assam, they were actually undocumented migrants from Bangladesh living in makeshift settlements across the city, Maktoob Media reported.
He went on to criticise the Lucknow Municipal Corporation, saying it had “sadly” employed them as cleaning staff. According to him, their huts could be found on vacant plots, riverbanks, and near drains in the Gomti Nagar Extension area.
Lal further alleged that neither the Lucknow Police nor municipal authorities were taking the issue seriously and claimed that the workers falsely identified themselves as residents of Bongai village in Assam, as well as from districts such as Nalbari, Barpeta, and Nagaon.
He also asserted that the presence of what he described as “Bangladeshis” in Lucknow posed a danger to India’s security and unity, adding that the risk had grown since Bangladesh had, in his view, come under a “radical and pro-Pakistan” government.
Brij Lal went on to allege that Bangladeshi nationals living illegally in India were involved in crimes such as gang robberies and thefts. He claimed that extremist groups like Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI) had carried out several terrorist attacks in India, including in Uttar Pradesh, and noted that a key HUJI operative named Babu Bhai was still imprisoned in the state. Lal further said the group was behind the 2007 bomb blasts at the courts in Lucknow, Varanasi, and Ayodhya. He also accused another Bangladesh-based outfit, Jamat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), of continuing to operate within India.
Warning of security risks, Lal asserted that if undocumented Bangladeshis were not expelled, terrorist organisations could establish bases in Indian cities, including Lucknow. He further claimed that the presence of Bangladeshi and Rohingya populations in India was part of a broader “international conspiracy” aimed at turning the country into an Islamic nation — a reference he linked to the extremist notion of “Ghazwa-e-Hind.”
Lal is a retired IPS officer from the 1977 batch and founder of Uttar Pradesh’s Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).
According to The Indian Express, the five men he accused were daily wage labourers from Assam, temporarily hired by a local supervisor for Diwali cleaning work, as regular staff were on leave. Each was reportedly earning ₹300 per day.
Congress corporator Mukesh Chauhan condemned Brij Lal’s comments, pointing out that Lal had served as Uttar Pradesh’s Director General of Police between 2011 and 2012 but had never raised concerns about Bangladeshi infiltration at the time.
Chauhan argued that BJP leaders began making such claims only after coming to power in 2017, suggesting that this reflected an intelligence failure on the part of both Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who also oversees the state’s Home Department.
Trinamool Congress spokesperson Riju Dutta criticised Lal as being “anti-Bengal” and “anti-Dalit,” saying that his statements reflected what he described as the BJP’s mindset.
Brij Lal has a record of making public remarks that many view as antagonistic toward Muslims. His comments often focus on issues such as reservations, illegal immigration, and religious sites, and he has been accused of portraying Muslim communities and subgroups in a negative manner, frequently alleging that they act against Hindu or national interests.