The police in Bengaluru detained as many as 60 persons on Saturday, suspecting them to be illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. There were 29 men, 22 women and nine children, police said.
At a press conference led by City Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao, the police said that these suspected illegal immigrants were living in shanties in peripheral areas of the city falling under Ramamurthynagar, Bellandur and Marathahalli police station limits.
“All the arrested will be deported to Bangladesh. There is information about some foreign nationals who are overstaying in KR Puram, Bagalur and other areas. Efforts are being made to arrest them. The passport and visa documents of all foreigners staying in the city are being checked,” Bangalore Mirror quoted one official as saying.
Those detained were rounded up during a raid by the Central Crime Branch police who were probing the issue of illegal migrants after an intelligence report.
According to reports, police also fear that those detained, who have been living here for a considerable time, may also have obtained identification documents such as Aadhaar and Voter ID cards illegally.
Many of the people were employed as daily wage labourers and worked either in the construction sector or collected scraps. Some of them were also employed by the contractors of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).
Police said most of these workers work at night and stay indoors during the day.
The cops added that the Foreigner’s Regional Registration Office has been informed and the people will be handed over to the Border Security Force (BSF), who will deport them to Bangladesh. Police are also looking to book the agents who brought them here.
The City Police Commissioner also said that from now on, property owners would be booked if it is found that they did not check the identity of tenants before renting their property.
It was reported in July that the Union Ministry of Home Affairs had directed the Karnataka government to look into the issue of illegal foreigners making their way into the city.