
Jodhpur: A first batch of 148 illegal Bangladeshi immigrants rounded up by police in Rajasthan under a special drive were sent to West Bengal on Wednesday by a special flight to continue with the deportation process, police sources said.
According to sources, 1,008 “infiltrators” have been detained in the exercise so far in 17 districts of the state.
These 148 illegal immigrants were apprehended from the Jaipur region after being identified by intelligence agencies following the April 22 Pahalgam terror act, the sources said.
They were taken from a detention camp in Jaipur to Jodhpur in police buses amid tight police security. Senior police officials were present to coordinate the exercise as the immigrants were put on a special flight for West Bengal.
According to intelligence sources, these immigrants will be kept under detention in West Bengal and, following further proceedings, will be deported to Bangladesh by the BSF.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma had on April 30 directed police to launch a campaign against illegal Bangladeshi immigrants and to ensure their deportation.
“These infiltrators had been kept at one of the two detention centres set up in Jaipur. In the first phase of their deportation, 148 have been sent to Jodhpur and dispatched for West Bengal for final deportation,” said a source.
This exercise would continue until all illegal Bangladeshis are identified and deported, the sources said.
They have been kept in six detention centres set up under the special campaign against Bangladeshi infiltrators in Rajasthan. These include one each in Alwar, Udaipur, Nagaur, and Behror, while two have been established in Jaipur.
The highest number of infiltrators – 394 – have been identified and detained from Sikar. Most of them have been employed at the brick kilns in and around the district. In the entire Jaipur range, 761 Bangladeshi infiltrators have been apprehended, the sources said.