As many as 150 Bangladeshi nationals who were allegedly staying illegally in different parts of the Valley were shifted to West Bengal as part of their deportation process, officials said.
The officials, privy to the development, said that a survey conducted by the administration with the help of the Jammu and Kashmir Police was carried out throughout the Kashmir Valley, during which around 600 Bangladeshi nationals were found allegedly staying illegally in the region.
“Around 150 people believed to be of Bangladeshi origin were flown out of Srinagar this morning,” the officials said, requesting anonymity.
Officials added that in the coming days around 500 Bangladeshis, who have been identified, will be dispatched from the UT and will be deported to Bangladesh.
These people were kept in a camp manned by the Srinagar police, from where they are being transported to Bagdogra for a final pushback to their country of origin, they said.
On Monday, a batch of 150 people was flown in a special Indian Air Force plane to Bagdogra, where they were handed over to Border Security Force (BSF) personnel, the officials said.
{{/usCountry}}On Monday, a batch of 150 people was flown in a special Indian Air Force plane to Bagdogra, where they were handed over to Border Security Force (BSF) personnel, the officials said.
{{/usCountry}}Another batch of 150 Bangladeshis will be deported on October 7, they said.
This development comes after the Union home ministry constituted a high-level committee on demographic change (HLCDC) to identify illegal immigrants living in border areas.
The J&K administration had informed the HLCDC that around 600 Bangladeshis had been identified across various districts of the UT.
The MHA constituted the HLCDC on May 26 to study demographic changes arising from illegal immigration and other factors and to recommend measures to address them. It has been asked to submit its report within one year.
The HLCDC had sought details from states and Union Territories regarding “visible changes” in religious demography across districts, industrial clusters and border districts over the last 15 years, the officials said.
In a letter dispatched to states and UTs over the last two months, the Committee sought “time-series data” indicating changes over the years, alongside other administrative datasets, an assessment by state governments of “major trends” in demographics, and data on the religious composition of tribal populations since 2011, they said.
The Committee, headed by Justice Prakash Prabhakar Navlekar (Retired), will scientifically assess demographic changes occurring in various parts of the country due to illegal immigration and other abnormal reasons, analyse their causes, and recommend appropriate policy, legislative, and administrative measures.
The LG office didn’t respond to repeated messages seeking a comment.
The decision to deport illegally Bangladeshi nationals and Rohingyas was taken after a high-level team from the MHA visited Jammu.
On March 6, 2021, on the instructions of the Union home ministry, the J&K administration started a verification drive of Rohingyas and sent 271 without documents to the Hiranagar holding centre.
On April 6, 2022, the J&K and Ladakh high court directed the home secretary to identify all illegal immigrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh within six weeks. While community members put the figure of Rohingya refugees at 6,000, the government claims that 13,400 Myanmar and Bangladesh refugees were living in various areas of J&K. According to an official estimate of the then BJP-PDP government in J&K, 5,700 Rohingyas had settled in and around Jammu. Rohingya Muslims are considered among the most persecuted communities in the world. A government document stated that 17 FIRs were registered against 38 Rohingyas for offences, including those related to illegal border crossing and drug-trafficking. On March 3, 2017, the then home minister Rajnath Singh had sought a report from the state over the “unabated influx” of refugees to Jammu. (WITH INPUTS FROM AGENCIES)