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Maharashtra govt with IIT-Bombay building AI tool to ‘identify’ illegal Bangladeshis
During the launch of the Mahayuti manifesto on January 11, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “We’ll free Mumbai from Bangladeshis.
The Maharashtra government, in collaboration with IIT Bombay, is developing a language-based verification AI tool that will analyse speech patterns, tone and linguistic usage to help identify suspected illegal Bangladeshi nationals and Rohingyas in the state, officials aware of the project said.
The tool, being developed by the state’s information technology department as part of a ₹3-crore project, is intended to assist law-enforcement agencies during preliminary identification. Officials said it would serve as an initial screening step before police carry out a full nationality investigation based on documents.
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During the launch of the Mahayuti manifesto on January 11, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “We’ll free Mumbai from Bangladeshis. We’ve deported the highest so far. With AI, we’ll identify and deport 100% Bangladeshis.”
It is important to note that West Bengal and Bangladesh (East Bengal) share heavily overlapping dialects, accents, vocabulary and pronunciation, since they are linguistically part of the same region that was divided politically. As a result, many Bengalis from West Bengal may sound “Bangladeshi” to outsiders. The overlap is especially pronounced in border districts such as North 24 Parganas, Nadia, Murshidabad and Malda, where speech patterns naturally blend across regions.
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However, the officials claimed the system will use linguistic markers such as accent, tone and word choices to distinguish Bangladeshi nationals from Bengali-speaking residents of West Bengal.
Once the tool indicates that a suspected person may not be from West Bengal, enforcement agencies can then proceed with further investigation to establish nationality through documentary verification. The tool is currently in an experimental phase.
“We have been working on it for the last three months and its reliability has proven to be 60%. In the next six months it will be foolproof and in a position to use,” said Fadnavis, adding that the government had also set up a detention centre to hold such persons before deportation.
The CM also the infiltrators first enter West Bengal, obtain forged documents, and then travel to different parts of the country while accessing government schemes.
