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150 Bangladeshis reportedly sent back from Kashmir over alleged illegal residence
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At least 150 Bangladeshi nationals have reportedly been detained in Kashmir and deported to Bangladesh after Indian authorities identified them as allegedly residing illegally in the country, according to ThePrint.
The group was reportedly detained on Monday and flown from Srinagar to Bagdogra in West Bengal on a special Indian Air Force aircraft. They were then handed over to the Border Security Force (BSF), which escorted them to the Bangladesh border.
ThePrint described the incident as the first publicly documented large-scale deportation of Bangladeshis from Kashmir.
Indian government records list 504 Bangladeshi nationals in Jammu and Kashmir, including 458 in the Kashmir Valley. A senior police officer said workers in Kashmir had been asked to submit Aadhaar cards for registration. Authorities reportedly found inconsistencies in the submitted information and sent the details to Bangladesh to verify their nationality before taking action under the Foreigners Act.
The official said Malda and Bagdogra are the two transit points in West Bengal used by the BSF to escort people across the international border. It remained unclear which route was used for the 150 Bangladeshis.
The deportation followed a visit by a central government-appointed High-Level Committee on Demographic Changes, headed by retired Justice Prakash Prabhakar Navalkar, which had recorded 504 Bangladeshi nationals living in Jammu and Kashmir.
ThePrint also reported that another group of foreign nationals was being prepared for deportation on October 7, with a subsequent report saying a second batch of 150 people was being prepared following the first group's transfer.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh's Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has increased vigilance along the border amid the reports. Lt Col Abdullah Md Kayes, commander of the Panchagarh 18 BGB Battalion, said the force had received the information through several channels and had strengthened surveillance, patrols and intelligence monitoring to prevent any push-in.