Gujarat Police detained over 550 illegal Bangladesh immigrants in Ahmedabad and Surat in a massive raid on Saturday (25 April), an ANI report stated. The officials informed that they were living in India on forged documents.
The deportation process will be initiated after authentic verification and questioning, officials confirmed.
The raid was a joint operation conducted with the assistance of the Special Operations Group (SOG), Crime Branch, Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU), Prevention of Crime Branch (PCB), and city police.
In Surat, an overnight joint round-up by SOG, DCB, AHTU, PCB, and city police resulted in the arrest of more than 100 Bangladeshi nationals.
"They had come into India illegally and were residing in Surat using forged documents. They will be deported to Bangladesh once the probe is conducted," Deputy Commissioner of Police (SOG) Rajdeep Singh Nakum told ANI.
Meanwhile, Ahmedabad police also simultaneously carried out a simultaneous operation around 3 am on Saturday.
In the early morning raid, over 450 suspected illegal residents were arrested by Crime Branch, SOG, Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Zone 6, and Headquarters personnel.
Deputy Commissioner of Police, Crime Branch, Ajit Rajian confirmed that over 400 people had been arrested during the sweep.
Sharad Singhal, Joint Commissioner of Police, Crime Branch, Ahmedabad, said the drive was conducted on special orders by the Home Minister, Commissioner of Police, and Director General of Police.
"HM, CP and DGP had ordered us that illegal immigrants have to be arrested. The Crime Branch had registered two FIRs from April 2024 till now. 127 illegal Bangladeshis were arrested and 77 were sent back," Singhal explained.
He added additionally that the latest operation in Ahmedabad was conducted on the intelligence inputs of massive illegal immigrants presence in the area of Chandola.
"We received information that there is a large number of Bangladeshis residing in the locality of Chandola. The police had conducted a combing operation this morning. 457 people have been detained up till now. Interrogation will be followed by deportation," Singhal added additionally.
