Family of 9 Bangladeshi illegal immigrants apprehended in Delhi
The nine illegal immigrants crossed into India through the Cooch Behar border in West Bengal a few months ago, police said. Initially, they lived in Mewat, Haryana, where they worked at a brick manufacturing unit. Fear of getting caught by the Haryana Police brought them to Delhi a few weeks ago. Since then, they frequently changed footpaths and were in the process of securing rented accommodation in their attempt to blend in, said deputy commissioner of police (northwest) Bhisham Singh.
'The Foreigners Cell received information regarding the presence of an illegal Bangladeshi migrant in Bharat Nagar. We conducted a raid on Friday and checked nearly 100 lanes and 50 footpaths. A suspect was apprehended during the raid, and he was interrogated. Initially, he tried to mislead the team members by claiming to be an Indian citizen. However, upon confrontation, he confessed to being a Bangladeshi national. His interrogation led to the apprehension of eight other members of his family: his wife, children, and his 45-day-old grandson,' said Singh, adding that all nine were handed over to the foreigners regional registration office (FRR) for deportation.
The accused were identified as Mohammad Saidul Islam, 45, his wife, Nazma Begum, 42, their sons Nazmul Ali, 23, Apple Ali, 19, and two others who are aged 17 and 8, a daughter aged 6, Nazmul's wife, Azina Begum, 20, and her 45-day-old son.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Indian Express
27 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
‘Baseless charges': Church condemns Malayali nuns' arrest in Chhattisgarh
KOCHI: The arrest of two Malayali nuns in Chhattisgarh on Friday has triggered outrage, with Christian organisations demanding immediate and decisive action to curb religious fanaticism. Nuns Preetha Mary and Vandana Francis from the Assisi Sisters of Mary Immaculate under the Syro-Malabar Church in Cherthala, who were accompanying three girls, were arrested by the Chhattisgarh police at Durg railway station and charged with forced religious conversion and human trafficking. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) said the nuns were arrested despite possessing written consent letters from the parents of the girls, who are over 18 years of age. The CBCI urged the state governments to ensure the safety and protection of all women, especially those in religious service, and sought the urgent intervention of the Union government to prevent such incidents. The Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council's (KCBC) Social Harmony and Vigilance Commission, in an official statement on Sunday, said the police's action was reportedly prompted by false and baseless allegations of religious conversion and human trafficking made by members of the Bajrang Dal. 'This distressing incident is part of a broader and deeply troubling pattern of increasing hostility towards Christians and missionary personnel across various Indian states. The weaponisation of anti-conversion laws by extremist groups is not only unjust but also poses a serious threat to the constitutional rights of religious minorities in the country. We affirm that Catholic missionaries do not engage in forced conversions,' the commission said. The CBCI said the Catholic Church will raise the issue on all appropriate platforms and 'strongly oppose any attempt to malign the dignity of religious nuns and priests or to curtail religious freedom.'
Hindustan Times
27 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
BSF troops at B'desh border get 5,000 body cameras to record deportations
The Border Security Force (BSF) is equipping its personnel at the India-Bangladesh border with around 5,000 body worn cameras (BWCs) to record arrests and pushback of illegal immigrants, smugglers' activities, and incidents of disagreement or attacks on its patrolling units, so that the Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) cannot dispute them later, people familiar with the development said on Sunday. BSF troops at B'desh border get 5,000 body cameras to record deportations As many as 2,500 BWCs — small battery-powered digital video cameras with night-recording capability that BSF jawans will be outfitted to their uniform shirts or winter jackets and manually start recording — have already been handed over while 2,500 more will be sent in coming weeks, officers said. 'A decision to use body-worn cameras was taken particularly in the wake of increasing attacks by drug smugglers or anti-national elements and skirmishes with human traffickers or individuals looking to enter India illegally who then allege use of excess force by BSF. They will help improve officers' safety, having electronic evidence, record stop and frisk procedures of patrolling units, and help reduce complaints by individuals and BGB at the border,' said an officer. The border guarding force's data seen by HT suggests that there were 77 attacks on BSF personnel at the Indo-Bangladesh border in 2024, while 35 such attacks have been recorded till June 30 this year. Besides, increasing incidents of unauthorised persons trying to enter India or leave for Bangladesh in the last couple of years have also been recorded. For instance, BSF apprehended 2,425 incoming and 1,049 outcoming individuals at the Indo-Bangladesh border in 2024, a number which has been recorded at - 1,372 (incoming) and 3,536 (outgoing) between January 1 and July 15 this year. Police and border control agencies in several countries including the US Customs and Border Patrol, the UK's Metropolitan Police, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) of Canada, German and France police among others use BWCs in their daily operations. Other than BWCs, to create a robust data of illegal immigrants and their instant verification, BSF has also installed at its sensitive posts 'biometrics authentication systems' - which are linked with the Foreigners Identification Portal (FIP) of the Bureau of Immigration (BoI), a third officer cited above said. 'This is aimed at keeping records of illegal immigrants for future, so that they don't make another attempt (s),' he said. Over 2,500 illegal Bangladeshi nationals have been deported in the last few months via various crossings at the Indo-Bangladesh border, said the third officer. During the last director generals (DGs) level talks between BSF and BGB in Delhi from February 17-20 this year, BSF had pointed out to the other side the assaults or abuse on BSF personnel and Indian civilians by Bangladesh based criminals or miscreants. Both sides agreed to undertake combined efforts to bring down such incidents to absolute minimum by increasing coordinated patrols especially during late hours of nights to early morning in vulnerable areas and educating the border population regarding the sanctity of the international border, according to a statement issued by BSF in February. It was also agreed that both BSF and BGB will pursue and share real-time information and investigation reports of traffickers, and remain extra vigilant to curb such crimes, and help victims of human trafficking and facilitate their rescue and fastest rehabilitation as per law of the land. 'The BWCs are a precautionary measure in that direction and to avoid any untoward incident (s),' he said. India shares a 4,096 kms long border with Bangladesh, which touches West Bengal (2216.7 km), Assam (263 km), Meghalaya (443 km), Tripura (856 km) and Mizoram (318) km). The entire stretch consists of plains, riverine belts, hills and jungles; is heavily populated and is cultivated right up to the border. There are 1,113 Border Out Posts (BOPs) of the BSF on the entire border to deter trans-border criminals, infiltrators and the hostile elements from indulging in the activities of intrusion/ encroachment and border violations. BSF employs round the clock surveillance and patrolling and monitoring through observation posts, besides using border floodlighting, water crafts/boats and floating Border Out Posts (BOPs) for domination of riverine areas. A major challenge, according to the first officer, at this border is 'its terrain'. 'Construction of fencing in certain stretches on this border due to riverine or low lying areas, habitations close to the border, and floods during monsoons makes it difficult to fence the entire border. Out of 4,096 kms long border, only 3,196 kms is fenced. The over 850 km long border is not feasible to be fenced,' he said.
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Migrant exodus sparks political storm in Gurugram
A police verification drive targeting undocumented immigrants in Gurugram has led to the departure of hundreds of Bengali-speaking migrant families and triggered a political controversy, with opposition leaders accusing the Haryana government of communal bias. A migrant worker settlement in South City 2, in Gurugram Sector 47 near Park Hospital, on Friday. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo) The drive, aimed at identifying undocumented immigrants, has reportedly led to 300–400 families leaving shanty settlements, particularly around South City 2, amid fears of detention and harassment. 'Even those with Aadhaar and voter cards are being detained. Police arrive without warning and take people away. Some were even beaten,' a migrant resident claimed, requesting not to be named. 'We didn't come here to break the law—we came to work hard and feed our families,' said Imran Ali, a 32-year-old construction worker from Murshidabad, who left Gurugram last week and is now staying with a cousin in Delhi's Seelampur. 'Police came to our settlement late at night. Even though I showed my Aadhaar card, they said it needed to be verified in Bengal. My wife got scared, packed our things, and we left that same night. I lost my job, and we are now surviving on whatever little savings I had. I don't know when we will go back—or if we even can.' Congress MLA Aftab Ahmed, a senior Meo community leader, alleged the drive is 'unfairly singling out Muslim residents' and 'damaging Gurugram's secular fabric and global image.' He said even individuals with valid documents have been detained and forced to leave. 'This campaign… has turned into a tool for communal victimisation,' Ahmed said, adding he has raised the issue with the state DGP and Gurugram Commissioner of Police, who assured him 'no legitimate Indian citizen will be harassed.' Chief minister Nayab Singh Saini defended the campaign, declaring, 'There is no place for Bangladeshi infiltrators in Haryana; they are being removed as swiftly as possible.' He added, 'No compromise against India's unity, sovereignty, and Constitution is acceptable... the nation's interest will always be paramount.' In response, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee slammed the drive, calling it 'linguistic terror' and alleging that Bengali-speaking workers are being deported without proper checks. 'I have been increasingly receiving reports of detentions and atrocities… West Bengal Police is receiving requests from Haryana Police for identity verification,' she said, citing Human Rights Watch (HRW) reports accusing BJP-ruled states of systematic deportations. HRW reports that this has been happening systematically in the BJP-ruled States of Assam, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Delhi, following a directive by the Ministry of Home, Government of India. Shame!! Now, even international human rights organisations have started taking note of the linguistic terrorism unleashed in India. This must stop at once!!' the CM has been attacking the BJP-led Centre, saying that the detention of hundreds of Bengali speaking migrant workers across BJP-governed states was 'a language war and linguistic terrorism' waged on Bengal and its people. TMC MP Samirul Islam backed Banerjee, accusing BJP-led states of 'hiding data on Bengali-speaking migrants' and turning 'national security into a tool of discrimination.' 'No illegal immigrant will be allowed to stay in Haryana. The verification drive is being conducted strictly within the legal framework to ensure the safety and security of all citizens,' said Arvind Saini, media in-charge of BJP Haryana. 'The Congress is raising baseless concerns because their traditional vote bank is being affected. This is not about religion or language—it's about national interest and lawful residency.' Senior Congress leader Pankaj Dawar said many of these families have been in Gurugram for over two decades as domestic workers and labourers. 'They consider Gurugram their home. But now, their lives have been thrown into chaos,' he said. Haryana Police, however, denied any communal angle. 'The process is based on intelligence inputs and legal procedure,' said Gurugram police spokesperson Sandeep Kumar. 'We are ensuring that no Indian citizen is harassed.' As the controversy deepens, the verification campaign has become a flashpoint in the larger political discourse around migration, minority rights, and state power, according to opposing political leaders. 'The situation is not just a local law enforcement issue anymore,' Ahmed said. 'It's a test of how inclusive and just we remain as a society.'
