In a massive crackdown, the Central Crime Branch (CCB) police on Saturday detained 60 people alleged to be illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. The drives were carried out in Ramamurthynagar, Bellandur, and Marathahalli police station limits. Of the 60 people, 22 are women and nine minor girls.
“They will be housed in a shelter till they are deported,” said the police.
Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao, who visited one of the locations where the drive was conducted, said their deportation would be expedited.
CCB police said they had detained a Bangladeshi man who allegedly got them to Bengaluru and a criminal case would be registered against him. Sandeep Patil, Joint Commissioner of Police, told The Hindu, “Those who were detained are from different parts of Bangladesh. They came to the city in a gap of one to two months. They were employed in menial jobs or as labourers in the city,” Mr. Patil said. “The man who brought them to the city had come here many years ago and managed to obtain identity cards issued by various agencies. We are also investigating as to how he got these cards.”
The police are also filing cases against property owners who rented out spaces for illegal immigrants, and are in touch with Intelligence Bureau and Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) for the deportation of those detained.
‘Not linked to NRC’
When asked if the drives were carried out in the backdrop of a proposal by Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai to introduce National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the State, Mr. Patil said, “The recent drives have got nothing do with the NRC. It is a routine check but this time detention happened in a large number. Recently, we had detained African citizens overstaying in the city.”
Last week, the police had identified six people from African countries who were illegally staying in the city.
