Hundreds of suspected Bangladeshi immigrants have begun returning to Bangladesh through border points in West Bengal following the state government’s move to set up holding centres for undocumented migrants awaiting deportation.
Long queues formed near the Swarupnagar border as men, women and children gathered to cross back into Bangladesh. Border Security Force (BSF) personnel detained many of them before initiating the formal process of handing them over to Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).
The development came a day after the first two holding centres for detained illegal immigrants were opened in Malda and Murshidabad districts. By Monday evening, 12 suspected Bangladeshi nationals intercepted in the two districts had already been shifted there.
Many of those returning said they feared detention and deportation. Taklima Khatun, a native of Khulna, said she had entered India two years ago through the Ghojadanga border and worked as a domestic helper.
“I don’t want to end up in a holding centre or be pushed back. So I am willingly returning home,” she said.
Most of the returnees were reportedly employed in construction work, hotels, fisheries and households across Kolkata and nearby areas.
Shahidul Gazi from Satkhira said he entered India three years ago with the help of a middleman and worked as a mason.
“I have no citizenship documents. Like hundreds of others, I am being forced to leave,” he said.
Another returnee, Mohammad Ali Sheikh from Jessore, said he had lived in Kolkata’s Metiabruz area for nearly seven years and worked at a hotel.
“After the new government directive to set up holding centres, I decided to return to Bangladesh,” he said.
Leader of Opposition in West Bengal, Suvendu Adhikari, defended the government’s approach and said illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators did not need to be sent to court before deportation.
He said existing laws allow police to hand over undocumented migrants directly to the BSF, which would then verify their nationality and coordinate repatriation with Bangladeshi authorities under bilateral agreements.
Adhikari also argued against keeping illegal immigrants in jails at public expense, saying the law allowing deportation had always existed but was previously not enforced due to political considerations.
A BSF officer said detained infiltrators undergo identity verification through questioning, fingerprinting and photography before the BSF contacts the BGB to complete the repatriation process.
