301 Bangladeshi infiltrators deported from Rajasthan so far: Official

Jodhpur, May 23 (IANS) A total of 301 Bangladeshi infiltrators have been deported from Rajasthan between May 14 and 23, as part of a large-scale crackdown on illegal immigrants in the state.

In the second round of deportation, 153 Bangladeshi nationals were flown from Jodhpur Airport to West Bengal on a special Air India flight, an official said on Friday.

From there, the Border Security Force (BSF) will facilitate their handover to Bangladesh. In the first round on May 14, 148 infiltrators had been deported.

The Bangladesh government has been duly notified of the repatriation of its citizens.

The deportation drive gained momentum following the terrorist attack in Pahalgam. In response, Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma instructed district authorities to identify and detain illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya immigrants residing in Rajasthan.

A statewide campaign was promptly launched. Many of the infiltrators were found living under false identities across several districts.

Over 1,000 individuals were arrested during the operation, most of whom lacked valid Indian identity documents. According to sources, many of the certificates seized were forged, and an investigation is underway to determine how and with whose help these documents were produced.

Under this operation, infiltrators were apprehended from multiple districts.

From Sikar, 394 Bangladeshi nationals were arrested. In Ajmer, 31 Bangladeshi nationals have been arrested. In Jaipur, around 218 Bangladeshis were arrested and from Alwar, 117 people were arrested.

Surprisingly, Sikar had largest number of illegal Bangledeshi migrants which included The infiltrators were engaged in various occupations while concealing their identities.

Women were mostly employed in domestic work, while men worked as scrap dealers, mine laborers, brick kiln workers, garbage collectors, and construction laborers. Some of the detainees also have criminal backgrounds.

To manage the influx of detainees, the Rajasthan government has set up six detention centers.

A Permanent centre has been created in Alwar while temporary arrangement has been made in Jhadol (Udaipur), Merta (Nagaur), Behror, and two locations in Jaipur.

These centers were established as part of a special campaign targeting Bangladeshi infiltrators. Currently, about 1,008 individuals are housed in these detention facilities.

--IANS

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