200 to 300 Bangladeshis arriving daily at Hakimpur border in West Bengal to return to Bangladesh

North 24 Parganas (West Bengal) – At the Hakimpur border outpost on the Bangladesh border, 200 to 300 Bangladeshi infiltrators are arriving every day seeking to return to Bangladesh. Instead of sending them directly across the border, the Border Security Force is collecting their biometric details and other identification documents and placing them in temporary shelters established in West Bengal. Many of these individuals possess Indian documents but do not have Bangladeshi identity papers.

Bangladeshi infiltrators are voluntarily coming forward for identity verification

A Border Security Force official stated that, for the first time, a situation has arisen where there is no need to search for illegal migrants. People are arriving at the checkpoint voluntarily to undergo verification and register their identities. Long queues of people form from morning until evening, and the verification process is taking considerable time.

According to Mohar Mondal, President of the local organisation ‘Bhukha Manusher Adhikar Abhiyan’, most of those arriving for verification are from six districts of Bangladesh and had entered India illegally.

Eleven shelters have been established in West Bengal as per the directives of the Union Home Ministry

According to the State Government, fewer than one thousand people are currently housed in these 11 centres. Food, medical assistance and basic facilities for children are being provided there.

Bangladesh has increased vigilance and is preventing entry across the border

The Bangladesh Border Guard has accused the Border Security Force of attempting to push illegal migrants into Bangladeshi territory. It claims that 10 such attempts have been thwarted during the past 24 hours.

Following reports that authorities in West Bengal had detained 386 suspected illegal migrants on 29 May, Bangladesh has also increased border patrols and deployed additional personnel along the border.