In a sweeping crackdown across Gujarat, more than 550 illegal Bangladeshi immigrants were detained in Ahmedabad and Surat for residing in the country with forged identification documents, state police said on Saturday.
Officials stated that the detainees had been living in India without valid papers and used counterfeit documents to establish residency. Deportation proceedings will begin once thorough verification and questioning are completed.
The large-scale, coordinated effort involved various law enforcement wings — including the Special Operations Group (SOG), Crime Branch, Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU), Prevention of Crime Branch (PCB), and local police units.
In Surat, over 100 Bangladeshi nationals were apprehended during an overnight joint combing operation. “These individuals had illegally crossed into India and were residing in Surat using fabricated documentation,” said Rajdeep Singh Nakum, Deputy Commissioner of Police, SOG. “They will be deported to Bangladesh after completion of the inquiry.”
A parallel operation took place in Ahmedabad around 3 AM on Saturday. Teams from the Crime Branch, SOG, Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Zone 6, and Police Headquarters detained more than 450 suspected undocumented immigrants. DCP Ajit Rajian confirmed the operation led to the detention of over 400 individuals.
Sharad Singhal, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch), Ahmedabad, said these operations were carried out following clear directives from the Home Minister, the Commissioner of Police, and the Director General of Police.
“The HM, CP, and DGP had instructed us to act firmly against undocumented migrants. Since April 2024, the Crime Branch registered two FIRs, detained 127 Bangladeshi nationals, and deported 77 of them,” Singhal said.
He also revealed that the latest action in Ahmedabad was based on specific intelligence regarding the presence of a large group of Bangladeshi nationals in the Chandola area. “Based on tip-offs, we launched a search operation early morning and detained 457 individuals. Deportation will proceed following due process,” he added.
