Basirhat, India, November 4: At least 48 Bangladeshi nationals were detained over the weekend while attempting to illegally cross the border from India into Bangladesh through the Basirhat sector of West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district, officials said on Sunday.
According to the Border Security Force (BSF), the group was trying to return to Bangladesh after the announcement of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, which involves house-to-house verification of voters by Booth Level Officers (BLOs).
“Many of them feared detention or deportation following the SIR announcement,” a BSF officer said.
The officer added that 33 people were apprehended on Sunday (Nov. 2) and handed over to the Swaroop Nagar police station, while 15 others were detained late Saturday (Nov. 1). The detainees, including women, had been working as domestic help and labourers in various parts of West Bengal and other Indian states.
Over the past three days, the BSF has caught 89 Bangladeshi nationals attempting to cross the border illegally along the same stretch, the officer said. The India-Bangladesh border in North 24 Parganas remains one of the most active stretches for illegal migration, prompting heightened vigilance by the BSF amid the ongoing voter list revision exercise.
