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Detect, delete, deport
In West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district, authorities initiated a crackdown on undocumented Bangladeshi migrants at the Hakimpur checkpost near the Bangladesh border under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government’s ‘detect, delete and deport’ policy.
“Hakimpur, India – Raisul Islam stands under the scorching sun near a checkpoint in Hakimpur village along the border with neighbouring Bangladesh in the North 24 Parganas district of India’s West Bengal state”
A Bangladeshi migrant described the pressure to leave, saying, “There is a lot of trouble going on here right now, so we are leaving. We cannot find any work, and no one is allowing us to stay.”
The crackdown followed directives from the West Bengal government instructing district magistrates to establish holding centres for apprehended foreigners and released foreign prisoners awaiting deportation or repatriation, aligning with Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) guidelines.
In a separate report, West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said the state had “established holding centres in all districts of the state” in May, and he claimed “From these centres, 4,800 Bangladeshi infiltrators have already been deported so far.”
Deportations and detention
Adhikari’s account also included a second figure, as he said “Another 836 people are currently in the holding centres... we are making arrangements to deport the 836 soon,” while speaking in Kolkata.
The Daily Star reported that Adhikari said the government had “established holding centres in all districts of the state” in May and that “From these centres, 4,800 Bangladeshi infiltrators have already been deported so far,” with “Another 836 people are currently in the holding centres... we are making arrangements to deport the 836 soon.”
In Al Jazeera’s reporting from Hakimpur village, Raisul Islam said he and his family came from Bangladesh for treatment and work, but he described being forced into a decision to surrender voluntarily because of fear of “harassment by the locals and the police for being an immigrant settled illegally here.”
Al Jazeera also described the state’s approach as a “detect, delete and deport” policy launched by the state government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which stormed to power in West Bengal for the first time only a month before the crackdown began.
Border fencing and push-back
The News Mill said BJP Member of Parliament Khagen Murmu stated that fencing work along the Bengal border is in progress and that holding centres are the designated locations for illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, adding, “Holding centres are the only place for illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.”
“The statement comes amid growing allegations that Bengali-speaking Muslims are being pushed across the border without due process”
Maktoob reported Adhikari defending the policy by saying, “We have provided land to the BSF for the construction of fencing along the Bangladesh border,” and he added, “We have asked those who came from Bangladesh to leave.”
Maktoob also said Adhikari claimed 4,800 alleged undocumented immigrants had been deported over the past month and that another 836 persons in holding centres would soon be deported, while he spoke at the BJP’s “Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Prashikshan Maha Abhiyan 2026” training programme in New Town, Kolkata.
Bangladesh’s border guards, as described by Maktoob, alleged that Indian authorities were trying to send individuals into Bangladeshi territory without following established procedures, amid growing criticism of alleged “push-back” or “push-in” operations without due process, nationality verification or formal deportation orders.
