E-Paper
Prayagraj police on alert after DGP’s order to identify illegal migrants
The Prayagraj police are on their toes after receiving director general of police OP Singh’s order to identify foreigners, especially Bangladeshis residing illegally
The Prayagraj police are on their toes after receiving director general of police OP Singh’s order to identify foreigners, especially Bangladeshis residing illegally in slums and other densely populated areas.
A Bangladeshi national was arrested earlier this week in Koraon area.
Additional superintendent of police Amit Kumar Anand said instructions to identify slums and illegal settlements in the city were given to all police stations. Residents of the slums will be properly verified in a bid to identify any Bangladeshi national or wanted criminal who might have taken refuge in the slums, he said. Their documents will be properly verified and even verification will be carried out at their native places. Any suspected person will be questioned further, the official added.
The DGP has insisted that his orders have no connection with the National Register of Citizens and the move is only aimed at tracing illegal migrants and criminals. There are numerous slums and illegal settlements all over the city.
The city witnessed heavy migration from Jharkhand and West Bengal in the past 30 years. The migrants first settled in small numbers in open grounds and vacant plots.
The number of slums has increased in the city with their residents engaged in different jobs and trades, including pulling rickshaws, labourers, rag picking, scrap dealers and working in small eateries.
At present, there are slums at Parade Ground, Gaughat Dharikar Basti, Bank Road, Kareli, Civil Lines, Daraganj, near Allahabad Junction, Rambagh railway station and Naini railway station etc. Moreover, migrants even constructed shanties on the banks of drains and occupied vacant state- owned lands.
Although, no Bangladeshi national was ever identified or arrested from slums in the city earlier, it is suspected that these densely populated slums may provide a safe shelter to illegal migrants, who also allegedly obtain identity proofs through forged documents.
A large number of the migrants allegedly possess voter identity, Aadhaar, ration cards and other documents on their present addresses.
Sources on the condition of anonymity claimed that many local leaders helped them in getting local identity and address proofs to get mass votes in elections.
The orders from the DGP indicate the move is also aimed at identifying criminals who often take shelter in these settlements. Besides involvement in theft and snatchings, persons residing in illegal settlements have also been found involved in serious crimes. Some of the accused involved in the sensational burglary at a bank in Civil Lines belonged to slums in Kareli area and were later arrested by the police.
