Adhikari says 4,800 alleged Bangladeshi immigrants deported; 836 more to be sent back
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Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday said about 4,800 people alleged to be undocumented immigrants from Bangladesh were deported from the state in the past month, and another 836 currently held in state detention centres would soon be sent back.
Speaking at the BJP’s Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya training programme in New Town, Adhikari said the 836 detainees, described by authorities as “illegal infiltrators,” are being processed for deportation to Bangladesh. The holding centres were set up after a state order on May 22 to accommodate alleged undocumented migrants and foreign nationals released from prison pending repatriation.
Defending the administration’s actions, Adhikari said the state had provided land to the Border Security Force to build fencing along the Bangladesh border and invoked legal provisions allowing alleged undocumented immigrants to be handed to the BSF rather than kept in prisons. “We have provided land to the BSF for the construction of fencing along the Bangladesh border. We have asked those who came from Bangladesh to leave. We will not treat them as honoured guests by providing them with medicines and food,” he said, adding that nearly 100 km of land has been transferred so far for fencing out of the 556 km needed.
Adhikari criticised the previous state government for, he said, treating such persons as guests and bearing their food, clothing and medical costs. His remarks came days after Bangladesh accused Indian authorities of attempting to push people across the border in multiple incidents within a 24 hour period.
The statement also comes amid growing allegations that Bengali speaking Muslims have been expelled or pushed across the border without due process, nationality verification or formal deportation orders. Over the years, complaints including cases in the Supreme Court have alleged members of the community were branded as Bangladeshi and expelled despite holding valid identity documents.