17 held in West Bengal on suspicion of being Bangladeshis

At least 17 people have been detained in separate operations in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas and Murshidabad districts on suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals, according to local police. Children and women are among those detained.

According to state police sources, the separate operations were conducted on Wednesday and Thursday. In the first operation, police detained 10 people from the home of a man named Yakub in the Gazi Mor area of Raidighi in South 24 Parganas. The operation was conducted based on a tip-off.

Among those detained were three children and two women.

Police said the detainees had entered India several years ago and subsequently became involved in the scrap-materials business in Bengaluru.

After a recent crackdown on undocumented residents there, they allegedly went into hiding and took shelter at the house in Raidighi.

Following their detention, they were transferred to the Laxmikantapur Holding Centre in the district.

Police are investigating whether they possess valid documents allowing them to enter and stay in India and how they reached the area.

Meanwhile, police detained another seven people from Kaharpara, an area near the Bangladesh border under Raninagar police station in Murshidabad district.

They were detained after being spotted moving around suspiciously in the border area.

During preliminary questioning, the detainees claimed that they were residents of Godagari in Bangladesh’s Rajshahi district.

They reportedly told police that they had crossed the border into India with the help of a broker to work as construction labourers and had planned to travel to Chennai.

However, they said the broker fled after helping them cross the border, leaving them stranded in the area.

The seven men were subsequently detained and transferred to the local Lalbagola Holding Centre, police said. All seven detainees are male.