Gurugram's Missing Maids and Sanitation Workers Linked to Immigration Crackdown: Reports
"Since Sunday there is a issue we all are facing in Ardee City, the maids and cooks are vanished suddenly and their cells are not reachable as well," the user wrote in the r/gurgaon subreddit.
"The garbage collection guy is not coming though. What is the reason?' they added.
As the post went viral, social media users speculated that the disappearance of domestic workers might be linked to the recent immigration drive targeting undocumented immigrants, particularly from Bangladesh and Myanmar.
Several users shared their experience with maids and workers at their homes and offices who had stopped coming in the last few days.
"They're detaining them, 90 per cent of them are illegals from Bangladesh. My maid is also one and she told us that this is happening and she's scared," said one user while another added: "They were illegal Bangladeshis. Now they are either getting deported or voluntarily leaving India."
A third commented: "If you have lived in Gurgaon long enough, you would know that 90 per cent of Bengali Muslims are illegal immigrants."
See the post here:
Illegal immigration crackdown
According to a Times of India report, the government initiated the drive to identify Bangladeshi and Rohingya living illegally in the city. The drive led to around 250 people being rounded up at four holding centres located in Badshahpur, Sector 10A, Sector 40, and Sector 1 in Manesar.
As of the last update, barring 10, who will be deported, the remaining had been allowed to go by the authorities.
The move has led to housing societies that depended on them for domestic chores, struggling for alternatives, as per a report in The Indian Express.
'We have identified 10 Bangladeshis (staying here illegally) from those kept at the holding centres. The deportation process is already underway for seven of them,' Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner of Police (Headquarters), Dr Arpit Jain, told the publication.
The drive to round up the illegals was initiated after a letter from the Union Home Ministry directed the state governments to prepare a standard operating procedure to deport, in sufficient numbers, Bangladeshis and Rohingya staying illegally.
"If any illegal foreign national is found living in any state/district, he will be detained and kept in a Special Holding Centre…the police is conducting special search operations for illegal foreign nationals to maintain law and order and peace in district Gurugram, for which Special Holding Centres have been acquired vide letter… dated 18.07.2025 of this office,' read a July 22 order from District Magistrate.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
3 hours ago
- Indian Express
A Jharkhand worker is killed in Niger terror attack, his family is now squeezed between company and contractor
Around 15 days after the terror attack at a project site in Niger that left two Indian workers dead, the body of Ganesh Karmali, a resident of Jharkhand's Bokaro district, reached his village on Sunday evening. The family, however, has now raised concerns over an alleged disparity in compensation from his employer. Ganesh Karmali, 35, who was a resident of Karipani village, and Krishna Gupta from Uttar Pradesh were killed in the July 9 attack at a World Bank-funded site managed by Transrail Lighting Ltd, an India-based company undertaking power transmission projects abroad. Another man from Jammu and Kashmir, who served as the company's safety manager, was abducted. Ganesh's daughter, Sapna Kumari, said that while Krishna's body was repatriated earlier and his family reportedly received Rs 27 lakh in compensation, her family was promised only Rs 10 lakh. Ganesh's wife, Yashoda Devi, told The Indian Express, 'If both were killed in the same attack and worked at the same site, why are we being treated differently? My husband had told me that the company owed him Rs 40 lakh.' A company representative, Mannar Ansar, said it did not directly employ Ganesh and that he was employed by a subcontractor. Ganesh was not on the company's payroll or on a visa sponsored by it, the representative claimed. 'We helped repatriate his body purely on humanitarian grounds after a request from the Indian embassy,' Ansar said, adding, 'He was not our employee. Krishna was, and he has been compensated under company policy with all applicable benefits, including insurance and gratuity.' Ansar said the Rs 10 lakh given to Ganesh's family came from the subcontractor working under them, not from the parent company managing the Niger project. The subcontractor under whom Ganesh was employed, LK Swamy, claimed that Transrail officials verbally urged him not to escalate the issue. 'They told me not to file any complaints, or it would create problems. But I'm just a small-time labour contractor,' he said, adding that he is ready to cooperate if approached by government officials or family representatives with documents. Swamy said that so far, he had paid the family around Rs 3 lakh from his own pocket, including Rs 50,000 for the daughter's wedding and Rs 17,000 for funeral related expenses. He said he had committed to providing a total compensation of Rs 12 lakh over time. 'I'm not a big contractor. I've only worked under their registration for two months. The company is now pressuring me to take full responsibility, but I didn't even issue the visa or ticket, all of that was arranged by Transrail Lighting Ltd,' he claimed. He also said that all of Ganesh's documents, including his visa, flight tickets, and landing permit, mentioned Transrail's name and address. 'Why did they pay Rs 27 lakh in Krishna Kumar's case from UP and refuse to take responsibility in this one?' he asked. Shikha Lakra, the officer in charge of the Jharkhand's Migrant Workers Control Room, operating under the state Labour Department, confirmed that Ganesh worked for Transrail Lighting Ltd. She acknowledged that the compensation in such cases is often minimal and insufficient. 'Under the state government's policy, Rs 5 lakh is to be provided to the family, which will be done,' she said. Yashoda Devi, however, remains unconvinced. 'We don't understand these technicalities. We just want justice and dignity for my husband,' she said. Shubham Tigga hails from Chhattisgarh and studied journalism at the Asian College of Journalism. He previously reported in Chhattisgarh on Indigenous issues and is deeply interested in covering socio-political, human rights, and environmental issues in mainland and NE India. Presently based in Pune, he reports on civil aviation, other transport sectors, urban mobility, the gig economy, commercial matters, and workers' unions. You can reach out to him on LinkedIn ... Read More
Indian Express
3 hours ago
- Indian Express
Arrested for ‘conversion' in Chhattisgarh, how case of Kerala nuns caused ripples in Parliament
A pharmacist from a deeply devout family and a nurse who spent several years in North India — these were the two nuns from the Kerala-based Syro-Malabar Church who were arrested following allegations of religious conversion and human trafficking in Chhattisgarh earlier this week. Preethi Mary and Vandana Francis, as well as a man identified as Sukaman Mandavi, were arrested by the Government Railway Police at Chhattisgarh's Durg Railway Station on Tuesday. According to an FIR registered on the basis of a complaint by a local man, they allegedly forcefully converted three women and trafficked them from Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district. However, the families of the three women have denied claims that they were trafficked. The arrest of the nuns has since snowballed into a major political flashpoint. The nuns belong to the Assisi Sisters of Mary Immaculate (Green Gardens), headquartered at Cherthala in Alappuzha. While Preethi is originally from Elavoor in Kerala's Ernakulam district, Vandana is from Udayagiri village in Kannur. Both nuns have siblings in the Church — Vandana's sister is a nun in the same congregation and her brother is a Catholic priest abroad. Preethi's sister, too, is a nun. Nithya Francis, the Bhopal-based Madhya Pradesh provincial general of Assisi Sisters of Mary Immaculate, told The Indian Express that the congregation had never faced this before. Preethi is diabetic, and Nithya met her in jail to ensure she had her medicines. The three women had been heading to Agra to work at a convent there, and the nuns had gone to receive them at the Durg Railway station, Nithya said. 'A woman who had earlier worked at our convent had suggested that the women take up employment there. They were eager to get a job, and it was only with the permission of their parents that we offered them the job,' she said. Although she had been working in the north for years, Preethi had 'never faced anything like this before', her sister-in-law Raiji Sijo said. 'However, during a recent visit, she told us that the situation was changing and that they cannot freely move outside in their habit,' she said. The FIR in the case books all three suspects — the two nuns and the man — under the Chhattisgarh Religious Freedom Act and the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act. The arrests and the case have drawn protests. On Tuesday, Christian organisations from Durg, Bhilai and Raipur gathered at a local court during a bail hearing of the three suspects to protest the arrest. 'Some people are trying to give it a political colour, but we all just want to ensure they are out of jail as soon as possible,' Nitin Lawrence, a Christian leader and the secretary of the Diocese of Chhattisgarh, told The Indian Express at the court. According to the suspects' lawyer Tamaskar Tondon, the arrests were made 'without a preliminary inquiry'. 'The FIR registered by the Government Railway Police (GRP) in Durg is based on a mere suspicion. The three women were all adults, and their family had consented to their going away for work,' Tandon said, alleging that the arrests were 'done under pressure'. Christian organisations have alleged that the suspects were assaulted by right-wing groups while in police custody. Some videos, purportedly of the attack, show mobs barging into the Durg GRP police station, where the suspects had been detained. Annie Peter, a Congress leader from Durg, said she had reached the police station soon after she learnt about the detention on Tuesday. 'There were a lot of people that morning. In the evening, we learnt that an FIR had been registered. I asked them to allow me to meet the two nuns. They were unable to speak,' she said. Arun Pannalal, president of the Chhattisgarh Christian Forum, said they would register a police complaint 'against the people who are seen screaming, threatening and intimidating the nuns and the victims (in the videos)'. Families of the three women who were allegedly trafficked also denied these allegations. 'My sister was going with them to get a job. I was the one who sent her because I trust them. I have worked for them in the past in Lucknow, and so I know it's a good job,' the sister of one of these women said. The issue has become a major political flashpoint, not only in Chhattisgarh, but also in Kerala and Delhi, where MPs from Kerala's ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) and Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) held separate protests outside Parliament on Tuesday. Former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel of the Congress said the arrests were part of 'the politics of polarisation'. 'Our party's general secretary has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister, and we also raised the issue in Lok Sabha. In the whole country, minorities are unsafe. In whichever states the BJP is in power, they target the minorities there for the sake of votes,' Baghel said in a post on X. On Wednesday, a delegation of leaders from Kerala's Congress-led United Democratic Front also visited the nuns at Durg central jail. The delegation included MPs Benny Behanan of the Congress, N K Premachandran of the Revolutionary Socialist Party and K Francis George of Kerala Congress. 'We had a long discussion with the nuns. They (nuns) are innocent and had gone just to receive the three women at the railway station,' Premachandran told reporters after the meeting. The nuns and the arrested man remain in jail, while the three women alleged to have been trafficked have been sent to a shelter home. On their part, the GRP has refused to comment, with one officer saying only that the court 'will take appropriate action'.
Indian Express
3 hours ago
- Indian Express
Tamil Nadu teen ‘shot at by police' after attacking Dalit man with machete amid caste tensions
A 17-year-old boy from a dominant caste community was allegedly shot and injured by police in Tamil Nadu's Tirunelveli district early Tuesday morning, following a violent caste altercation in the village of Pappakudi. The teenager, wielding a machete, had allegedly attacked a Dalit youth and later turned on the police officers who arrived to intervene. The incident, which occurred around 1.30 am, allegedly unfolded with an attempted machete assault on Sakthi, a 22-year-old Dalit youth from Rastha near Pappakudi. According to a senior police officer who visited the village on Tuesday morning, the attacker and his associate—both minors from the Thevar community, categorised as Most Backward Class (MBC)—were already facing criminal cases. The motive for the assault is believed to be rooted in simmering caste tensions between local groups. As the incident escalated, the Pappakudi police, led by Sub-Inspector Murugan, responded to an emergency call and reached the scene. However, rather than fleeing, the teenagers reportedly turned their machetes toward the officers. In a chilling turn of events, the armed teens allegedly chased the officers through the village and injured one. According to police, one officer, Sub-Inspector Murugan, sought shelter in a nearby house. As the residents locked the door behind him, the attackers allegedly struck the door repeatedly with their weapons. 'Fearing for his life, the officer opened fire to disperse the assailants,' the officer told The Indian Express. 'Two rounds were fired. One bullet struck the attacker's hand, but did not penetrate deeply.' The injured teen and the Dalit victim were rushed to Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital. The police officer who sustained injuries is undergoing treatment. All three remain hospitalised. According to police inquiry, there was a tense atmosphere in Pappakudi prior to the incident, with a minor scuffle earlier that night between members of two caste groups. While most dispersed upon seeing the police, the two teens, belonging to the politically influential community —armed and apparently seeking revenge—allegedly stayed back and escalated the situation. The officer said the swift decision to open fire was made to prevent further violence. 'The boy chased the police with a sickle. We tried to manage the situation, but when the officers were also attacked, they were forced to act in self-defense,' he said. Police have launched a manhunt for the second teen who fled the scene. A case has been registered against both minors for attempted murder and assault on public servants.
