India detains over 1,000 Bangladeshi migrants

Ahmedabad: Indian police have detained 1,024 Bangladeshi migrants in a sweeping crackdown in the western state of Gujarat aimed at deporting people living there illegally, the state government said Saturday.

The Indian government, led by Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, often describes undocumented Bangladeshi immigrants as “Muslim infiltrators”, accusing them of posing a threat to the country’s security.

Rights groups say the anti-immigrant rhetoric is aimed at boosting the ruling party’s vote bank by appealing to the majority Hindu population.

“Police forces collectively detained 1,024 illegal Bangladeshi nationals during an overnight operation,” the Gujarat government said in a statement.

Gujarat’s Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi had given a two-day ultimatum for remaining Bangladeshis in the state illegally to surrender voluntarily, it added.

Police are also investigating a network based in West Bengal state for producing counterfeit identity documents.

Following legal procedures, the detained individuals will be deported to Bangladesh, the statement said.

Initial investigations have revealed that the detainees were involved in narcotics, human trafficking, and other illegal activities, police said.

Lax border controls have ensured the entry of millions of Bangladeshi nationals into India over the years.

Relations between India and Bangladesh have nosedived since a revolution in Dhaka last August ousted leader Sheikh Hasina, who was a long-term New Delhi ally.

Hasina, who fled to India, has defied extradition requests from Bangladesh to face charges including mass murder.