Lucknow mayor leads verification drive against illegal migrants, slum-dwellers allege harassment
Slum dwellers, social activists question absence of protocol for identification of Bangladesh nationals and Rohingya Muslims living illegally in Lucknow
In a high-intensity enforcement drive, Lucknow mayor Sushma Kharkwal led on-ground action against alleged illegal migrants from Bangladesh and Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar in the state capital’s Gudamba area on Thursday.
The action came even as the police have already been carrying out an ongoing verification campaign in slum settlements of the city.
Thursday’s drive was carried out in Phool Bagh colony near the Gudamba police station where around 70 families of slum-dwellers were provided an open plot for informal settlements allegedly by a local corporator Pankaj Yadav. A similar drive was carried out under the Ghazipur police station limits.
While the civic team moved through the slum clusters, several residents accused Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) officials of harassment, alleging that belongings were seized without any prior notice or verification. Residents said that instead of asking for identity documents, officials directly began dismantling structures and confiscating items.
A slum dweller Afsar Ali (34), who originally claimed to be from Assam’s Barpeta district, displayed his NRC (National Register of Citizens) papers and recent police verification documents in an attempt to prove his citizenship status.
He claimed that despite possessing valid records, the team treated him as a suspected illegal immigrant. Others echoed similar concerns, saying that the officials did not examine voter ID cards, Aadhaar, or police-verified documents before taking action.
“My forefathers are from Assam and they have been living there for over 100 years. I have been living in Lucknow for the last 14 years and selling vegetables. Every year, we get our police verification done, but they (LMC) suddenly came like thieves and took our belongings like the selling cart and other occupational items away in vehicles,” Ali said in a mixture of Assamese and Hindi, showing his NRC papers and Lucknow police verification document.
Mohd Habiz Ali, who too claimed to be a resident of Barpeta district, said he was living in Lucknow for the last 21 years.
“By taking away the tools we depend on to earn our livelihood, the mayor is simply trying to stop our daily work. This is nothing but injustice and harassment,” he said.
Firoz Ali, who also said he hailed from Barpeta, claimed he had been earning his living as a sweeper in Lucknow for the last five years.
“There is fear among all the dwellers here as they (the team) came in the morning leaving us with no work.We will go to Gudamba police station and get a report lodged for taking away our belongings,” said Intiaz Ali, 45.
Concern over lack of a defined process
for identifying foreign nationals
Social activist and human rights observer Madhu Garg said the incident has brought renewed attention to a long-standing governance gap about the absence of a clear, legally consistent protocol for identifying Bangladeshi and Rohingya nationals in urban settlements.
“Currently, different agencies follow varying criteria and civic bodies are not formally empowered to conduct nationality verification without police or central-agency coordination,” she stated.
She emphasised that this creates conditions for misidentification of citizens, especially among migrant labour communities as the actions are based on appearance, language, or locality, rather than documented evidence. She said this leads to potential violation of due-process norms, as only designated authorities can verify nationality.
Human-rights observers argue that without a unified standard operating procedure (SOP), enforcement drives risk targeting vulnerable populations indiscriminately, while failing to accurately detect actual illegal foreign nationals.
LMC officials maintained that the mayor’s operation is part of a broader campaign to curb illegal encroachments and identify unauthorised settlers. Municipal sources said police support was present and that the drive followed routine procedure.
However, community members insisted that no structured verification mechanism was followed on the ground. They called for the presence of specialised verification agencies during such drives, clear guidelines on acceptable documents, advance notice before eviction or confiscation, a grievance-redress platform for residents carrying valid papers.
What police say
Lucknow’s deputy commissioner of police (DCP) East Shashank Singh said, “Police verify their identity through government documents such as NRC documents, Aadhaar card, voter ID card and police verification. Usually, they say they are from Assam and, in that case, their details are taken. Documents are examined to ensure that records match their declarations. Residents who were unable to immediately produce documents were asked to present them at the local police station.”
Mayor says ‘officials asked for papers slum-dwellers failed to show them’
When contacted, mayor Sushma Kharkwal denied the public allegations made during the sudden checking drive, where slum-dwellers claimed that LMC officials seized their belongings without asking for relevant documents.
She said officials properly demanded documents including NRC, Aadhaar and other relevant documents in front of the public and other officials who were present during the drive, and the entire process was recorded. She added that slum-dwellers failed to show any relevant documents.
She said that when she asked people to name the area’s MLA, they were unable to answer. She also noted that the slum-dwellers did not even know the name of their village pradhan which contributed to generating suspicion.
Kharkwal said she had already given people 15 days to vacate the land and leave the premises. She added that the alleged landowner, who was present during the drive, informed her that the land was under dispute.
“One of the land owners, who was present during the drive, claimed that the land is illegally under the possession of Pankaj Yadav,” the mayor said and added, “Even among those who showed Aadhaar cards, the address mentioned was of the same disputed land.”
She said she instructed the SDO concerned of the electricity department to disconnect the power supply immediately which was provided to the people living illegally on the land.
Kharkwal said the team seized around 50 carts from the spot, which were allegedly being used illegally for garbage collection and the sale of waste materials.
Zonal sanitary officer Ajeet Rai from Zone 7 confirmed that he was present during the drive and followed orders. He confirmed that the team conducted the operation and seized the carts being used illegally.
