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Karnataka police have identified 911 foreign nationals allegedly staying illegally in the state over the past three years, Home Minister Priyank Kharge said in the Legislative Council on Thursday, August 20.
Home Minister Priyank Kharge, replying to a question in the Karnataka Legislative Council, said the action was part of measures to identify illegal immigrants and foreign nationals residing in Karnataka without valid documents or overstaying their permitted period of stay. Of the overstaying foreign nationals, 365 have criminal cases registered against them, Kharge said, citing a police report.
Bangladeshis accounted for the overwhelming majority of those identified, with 868 persons. The remaining 43 comprised 20 from Pakistan, 13 from Nigeria, eight from Sri Lanka, and one each from Myanmar and Uganda, according to the police.
Police said the verification of foreign nationals was carried out using the District Police Module (DPM) and the Foreigners Identification Portal (FIP). Further action was initiated in coordination with the authorities concerned and immigration officials.
In Bengaluru city, police identified 5,304 foreign nationals during the verification exercise, of whom 446 were found to be overstaying illegally. The report did not provide the corresponding number of illegal immigrants identified in other districts of Karnataka.
Criminal cases
Of the 911 foreign nationals identified as staying illegally across Karnataka, 365 were found to have been involved in criminal cases, the report said.
Nigerian nationals accounted for the highest number among those linked to criminal cases, with 135 cases, followed by Bangladeshis with 48 and Nepalis with 44. The figures indicate that the nationality breakdown of those linked to criminal cases differs significantly from that of the overall group identified as staying illegally.
The report also listed cases involving nationals of Myanmar (20), Ivory Coast (13), Uganda (13), Ghana (11), Sudan (9), Ukraine (9), Iran (9), Kenya (8), Sri Lanka (7), Gambia (5) and Ethiopia (5).
Tanzania accounted for four cases, while nationals of the United States were linked to four cases. Cameroon and Indonesia accounted for three cases each, with several other nationalities recording one or two cases.
The police said the identification and verification process was being undertaken in coordination with relevant authorities and immigration officials as part of measures to address illegal stay by foreign nationals in the State.
