At least 520 individuals identified by the Delhi police as illegal Bangladeshi migrants and foreigners who have overstayed have been deported via the land border to Bangladesh since the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22, The Indian Express quoted a Delhi Police officer as saying.
Data available with the Ministry of Home Affairs shows that around 220 illegal migrants and 30 overstaying foreigners were caught by Delhi Police between November 15, 2024, and April 20, 2025. These individuals were the handed over to the Foreigners' Regional Registration Office (FRRO) and sent to Bangladesh through land borders after being transported to eastern states by rail and road.
However, a concerted capital-wide following the April 22 Pahalgam attack saw Delhi Police identify and pick 470 illegal Bangladeshi migrants and an additional 50 overstaying foreigners in the past month alone.
"Over the last one month, around 3-4 special flights went from the Hindon air base in Ghaziabad to Agartala to drop all illegal migrants," a police officer told IE, adding that about 700 illegals have been sent back to Bangladesh over the last six months.
The Delhi Police's action follows specific directions from the MHA late last year asking them to undertake a verification exercise to identify and detain illegal Bangladeshi migrants and Rohingyas.
Directions were given to Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCPs) of all 15 districts in Delhi to conduct verification drives and detain illegal Bangladeshi migrants and Rohingya. "Then, a team of the first battalion of Delhi Police and FRRO officials travelled via trains taking the detained illegal migrants to West Bengal. They then took the bus and handed over all illegal migrants to the Border Security Force (BSF), and finally deported them to Bangladesh," a source aware of the operations said, according to The Indian Express.
Police were asked to increase the level of investigation and take strict legal action against networks that help illegal Bangladeshis and Rohingya enter India, and help them obtain fake documents, the source added.
After the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, the Union Home Ministry is learnt to have asked Delhi Police to step up its efforts to detect and deport all illegal migrants at the earliest.
"Around five makeshift holding centres were built by Delhi Police; they were told to coordinate with the FRRO, and drop the illegal migrants in a special plane to Agartala airport and West Bengal," the report said citing sources.
According to data with the MHA, of the 34,265 people suspected to be illegal Bangladeshi migrants and reviewed by Delhi Police, documents of 33,217 people were found to be genuine. Document verification of 278 people is still under process.
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