India ‘pushing back’ Bangladeshis held without documents

Detained Bangladeshi migrants are pictured astatine a transgression subdivision bureau successful Ahmedabad connected April 26, 2025 pursuing an cognition by the Gujarat Police. | Photo Credit: AFP

Over the past month, India has been “pushing back” undocumented Bangladeshi migrants detained crossed the state done the eastbound border, authorities officials told The Hindu.

In 1 instance, connected May 4, 2 Air India planes transported 300 undocumented migrants, including 200 women and children, who were earlier detained successful Gujarat, to Agartala successful Tripura. They were subsequently sent to Bangladesh via the onshore border.

On April 26, the Gujarat Police had detained implicit 1,000 suspected Bangladeshi nationals from Ahmedabad and Surat.

According to a authorities official, arsenic galore arsenic 295 Bangladeshis were “deported” successful 2024, and this twelvemonth till April 30, astir 100 Bangladeshi citizens person been deported and handed implicit to the Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB).

According to the Daily Star, a Bangladesh daily, the Foreign Ministry of Bangladesh sent a missive to India connected May 8 “raising interest implicit radical being pushed into the state and urged New Delhi to adhere to established repatriation mechanisms”.

The External Affairs Ministry is yet to remark connected the subject.

On Wednesday (May 14, 2025), Rajasthan Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Jogaram Patel said successful Jaipur that astir 1,000 suspected Bangladeshi nationals had been identified arsenic residing successful antithetic parts of the State. “The archetypal batch of 148 Bangladeshi nationals was transported to Jodhpur and flown to Kolkata connected Wednesday (May 14, 2025). From there, they volition beryllium deported to Bangladesh,” Mr. Patel said.

According to sources, astir of the detainees brought to Jodhpur were from Sikar district. The Village Development Officers’ Training Centre successful Jodhpur has been temporarily converted into a detention installation for the Bangladeshi nationals. Mr. Patel said a akin deportation process would beryllium followed for pushing backmost the overseas nationals successful the coming days.

On May 10, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said astatine a property league successful Guwahati that the authorities had decided to instrumentality the “push back” mechanics to cheque infiltration alternatively of going done the ineligible route.

“Infiltration is simply a large issue. We person present decided we volition not spell done the ineligible process. Earlier, determination was to apprehension a idiosyncratic and past bring him to the Indian ineligible system... Earlier besides we utilized to apprehension 1,000-1,500 foreigners...they indispensable beryllium sent to jailhouse and past they are produced earlier a tribunal of law. Now, we person decided that we volition not bring them wrong the country, we volition propulsion them. This pushing backmost is simply a caller phenomenon. Every year, 5,000 radical participate the state and due to the fact that of pushback this fig volition go minimise now,” Mr. Sarma said.

On concerns raised by Bangladesh, the authorities authoritative quoted supra said, “These are their citizens and they should judge them.”

After governmental changes successful Bangladesh successful August 2024, connected the directions of the Union Home Ministry, the States started a crackdown connected illegally staying foreigners successful the country. The momentum accrued aft the Pahalgam panic attack connected April 22, officials said.

The Hindu reported connected March 31 that the voluntary instrumentality of undocumented Bangladeshis had besides seen an summation pursuing the crackdown.

Against 337 undocumented Bangladeshis without visas and passports who were apprehended portion crossing the eastbound borderline into that state from January to July 2024, those apprehended successful the consequent months, from August 2024 till March 21 this year, stood astatine 906. Out of this, 411 exits had been recorded from January to March.

 The full magnitude of the India-Bangladesh borderline is 4,096.7 km, of which 3,232.21 km is fenced.

(With Inputs from Mohammed Iqbal successful Jaipur)

Published - May 14, 2025 11:26 p.m. IST