Law enforcement officials have recently detained 48 Bangladeshi nationals who were attempting to illegally cross into Bangladesh from West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district, specifically through the Basirhat border areas. This wave of attempted departures comes in the wake of West Bengal’s announcement of a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of its electoral rolls.
According to a Border Security Force (BSF) officer, these individuals were reportedly trying to leave India out of fear of potential detention or deportation, a concern triggered by the SIR initiative. Many of the arrested individuals had been working in various capacities, such as domestic help and laborers, across West Bengal and other Indian states.
The arrests were made over two days: 33 individuals were apprehended by the BSF on Sunday and subsequently handed over to the Swaroop Nagar police station, while another 15 were caught on Saturday night. This recent crackdown brings the total number of Bangladeshi nationals illegally residing in India, apprehended along this specific border stretch and handed over to local police, to 89 within the last three days. The SIR process involves Booth Level Officers conducting thorough house-to-house visits to verify voter details, which appears to have prompted these attempted border crossings.