‘Card toh yahi rahega’: Cops on their toes, residents on alert, how Delhi police searches for illegal Bangladeshis in Capital

Led by a sub-inspector, a six-member radical – including an adjunct sub-inspector, 2 caput constables and arsenic galore constables — is rapidly enactment together. Soon 2 bikes, carrying 2 policemen each, and an SUV with different two, leaves. Their destination: Kanchan Kunj.

The exercise is portion of the peculiar drive kick-started pursuing a directive by the Lieutenant Governor’s Secretariat to the Delhi Chief Secretary and Police Commissioner connected December 10 past twelvemonth to place and instrumentality enactment against “illegal immigrants from Bangladesh” residing successful Delhi “in the adjacent 2 months”.

So far, implicit 58 persons person been deported connected the orders of the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO), the Delhi Police says. Eight person been arrested.

Situated 2 km distant from the constabulary station, Kanchan Kunj is simply a clump of makeshift jhuggis, mostly with tin sheets serving arsenic roofs. Accessible lone by a constrictive road, the code is cluttered with heaps of garbage of each kinds — integrative bottles, breached furniture, and out-of-shape utensils. Local residents tin beryllium seen hanging astir tiny shops selling cigarettes oregon serving tea. A fewer others sift done the garbage looking for worldly they tin aboriginal merchantability – the locality is location to galore rag pickers. Some lukewarm themselves successful beforehand of a tiny bonfire.

At the show of khaki-clad men, the locality seems to beryllium jolted retired of its day languor. Some huddle together, others peep gingerly from their houses. “Get your Aadhaar cards, everyone. Any different papers you have, bring that arsenic well,” the sub-inspector orders.

The radical astir the bonfire looks half-amused. This is intelligibly not the archetypal clip they – the constabulary unit – are here. The residents resistance their feet towards their shanties.

Policemen questioning a antheral successful Kanchan Kunj astir his residence and domicile. (Express Photo/Pragynesh)

Mohammad Alamin Aslam, 19, is not 1 of them. Looking adjacent parts frightened and surprised, Aslam cuts a thin frame, with his hands successful his pockets arsenic helium shivers successful the chill of the Capital. He lone has a bladed sweatshirt connected his back.

He rushes wrong his relative Rafique Aslam’s house, 1 of the archetypal successful the jhuggi cluster, and comes retired with his Aadhaar card. “Mere bhai ka yahaan kaam hai (My member has his concern here). I person travel present to hunt for work. My desh (home) is Assam,” helium tells the inquiring policemen.

Aslam’s relative works astatine a godown successful Sarita Vihar. According to his Aadhaar card, Aslam belongs to the Dhubri territory of Assam and arrived successful Delhi lone a period and a fractional agone to look for work. “My household trades successful apparel successful Assam. Every day, we spell to Meghalaya successful the greeting to merchantability our goods successful the wholesale market,” helium tells The Indian Express.

For the past 4 years, helium has been helping his household successful its business, covering the 20-km back-and-forth agelong from Dhubri to the wholesale marketplace adjacent the Meghalaya borderline daily. He is present present to “take banal of occupation opportunities”.

“If determination is thing (a job), I volition commencement earning present and effort to acceptable up a cloth shop. Then, I tin bring implicit my household and we could proceed to pb our lives here. I don’t cognize wherefore they (police) are checking me. I americium lone present for a job,” helium says.

Unlike Aslam, 22-year-old Rukhsana Begum has present grown utilized to showing her Aadhaar paper to policemen connected demand.

She is from Bagachra colony successful Assam. “I was joined early… astatine 15… I person been surviving successful Kanchan Kunj for the past six years. Before that, I lived successful Khadar. Police support coming present to cheque the documents. Every time, I accidental the aforesaid thing,” she says.

Begum has 2 children – a six-year-old lad and a three-year-old daughter. They don’t spell to school. “We can’t spend to nonstop them to school,’’ she says.

Begum’s hubby Rafiqul Islam is simply a rag-picker. And truthful are her parents who unrecorded “right crossed the road” successful Khadar.

Kanchan Kunj is location to galore different “Assamese Bengalis”, respective of whom are from Begum’s ain village. “I came to Delhi erstwhile I was 10,” she recalls.

While Aslam and Begum are from Assam, Kallu Khan has nary transportation to the Northeast oregon adjacent West Bengal. Khan, 50, is from Uttar Pradesh’s Badaun, 222 km from the capital.

A ragpicker similar galore successful the area, helium says, astir with a hint of pride, that helium ne'er saw his sanction “being noted” by the police. “Ab toh yahan teen-chaar baar aa chuki hai constabulary (The constabulary person visited this country three-four times by now). They spot my elector ID and past inquire a fewer questions. But they person ne'er noted by name. It’s mostly Bangla log (Bengali people) whose names they jot down, I think,” helium says.

A begetter of seven, 2 of whom are joined now, Khan near Badaun 5 years agone to travel and enactment with his in-laws successful Kanchan Kunj. “Wahan kuch kam tha nahi (There was nary work). My in-laws are successful the concern of rag-picking. So, I besides came present to gain a living,” helium says.

The constabulary squad moves wrong the clump and inspects 10 much people. All of them accidental they are from Assam, each of them Muslims.

Amid the squalor of the cluster, the residents look to person developed an casual camaraderie. No 1 resists. They stitchery successful a neat line, Aadhaar paper successful hand, and hold for their crook earlier the policemen.

An officer, who is simply a portion of the drive, is not convinced. “It has go precise hard to beryllium who among them are amerciable immigrants. Almost each of them person their basal documents ready,’’ helium says. “This is wherefore we trust connected communal trends (dialect, etc.) recovered among amerciable immigrants we person detained antecedently and effort to hint their places of origin”.

Back astatine Kanchan Kunj, Begum says she has grown bushed of sportfishing retired her Aadhaar paper again and again. “Last clip they (police) came, my hubby showed them the documents. Now they are present again. How galore times volition we repetition the aforesaid thing? Card toh yahi rahega,” she says with a shrug.

Seeing the policemen leave, she calls retired to them: “Saahab, khana toh kha ke jaao. Machchi aur bhaat bana hai (Sir, bash articulation america for lunch. We person prepared food curry and rice).”

One of the officers turns astir and breaks into a smile, the archetypal clip done the full exercise. “Kabhi aur!”

The constabulary squad leaves.

DCP (Southeast) Ravi Kumar Singh aboriginal explains that “as of now, 25-30 radical person been suspected of being amerciable immigrants successful Southeast district”.

“We are besides trying to find if determination are agents who assistance them travel present successful groups and forge their documents,” Kumar says.

Besides Madanpur Khadar, Kali Basti successful Uttam Nagar, Jamia Nagar, Rangpuri successful Southwest Delhi and Arjan Garh person seen aggregate checking drives by the constabulary to place the alleged immigrants.

On January 25, different thrust was taken up successful the Southeast constabulary territory successful Jamia Nagar astir 12 pm. “We had a akin thrust astatine a jhuggi successful P Block of Jamia Nagar. Names of astir 50 radical were jotted down from the country recently,” a elder constabulary serviceman informs.

It is astir 3 p.m. and determination is implicit calm successful this jhuggi cluster, close adjacent to an under-construction flyover. The constabulary had already near respective hours ago.

Carrying 2 buckets of h2o collected from a nationalist tap, Mohammed Shiraz, 42, makes his mode done the cramped lanes to his home: a two-floor jhuggi with his landlord occupying the precocious storey. On the crushed level is simply a two-room set, disposable to Shiraz astatine a monthly rent of Rs 6,000. A begetter of five, helium works arsenic a sweeper astatine the IGI Airport.

A migrant from Bihar, Shiraz says helium has been surviving successful Delhi since 1998 but it is the archetypal clip helium is being subjected to “identity verification” by the Delhi Police. “I person built my beingness successful Delhi. All my children were calved here. Still, they asked maine to amusement my Aadhaar similar I was immoderate benignant of a thief.”

A nonmigratory of the aforesaid P Block, Mohammed Suleiman, 35, considers himself a existent “Dilliwala”. He grew up successful Old Delhi and moved to Jamia Nagar astir 15 years ago. He owns a two-storey jhuggi, with the archetypal level serving arsenic location to his family, comprising his parents and wife. On the crushed floor, helium has acceptable up a tiny water-cleaning portion done which helium sells filtered h2o to radical successful the locality. He runs this one-man operation.

Suleiman doesn’t recognize wherefore “natives” of the superior similar him are being questioned. “I was astatine the masjid erstwhile they (police) came connected rounds. My neighbours told maine that they asked for their Aadhaar card. Listen to however we speak, bash we dependable Bengali to you? It’s conscionable due to the fact that I person this sanction that I volition beryllium asked to beryllium myself (identity),” helium says.

Kanchan Kunj dwellers arsenic a constabulary enactment enters the country to inspect their identities. (Express Photo/Pragynesh)

Having done their rounds, an workout that took them an hour, the constabulary person their “suspects”. The adjacent task, the constabulary officers say, would beryllium to cod accusation astir them. “We telephone our informants successful the area, galore of whom person been residents of these localities. We question them astir the radical they spot often astir and those who are new. We besides interaction the houses oregon places wherever these radical are employed, and inquire the leader if they person carried retired inheritance verification,” says a constabulary serviceman who has been portion of respective large drives successful the Southwest constabulary territory of Delhi.

Around 30 km away, successful West Delhi’s Dwarka district, constabulary person identified astir 200 suspected amerciable immigrants truthful far. “Most of them travel from either Assam oregon West Bengal. We person sent a squad to their location states to verify their identities and documents,” DCP (Dwarka) Ankit Singh says.

In Outer Delhi, the Delhi Police claims that 175 individuals are suspected amerciable immigrants.

Verification process

“Special teams person been tasked with coordinating with the territory foreigners’ cells to transportation retired door-to-door checking and thorough inspections,” DCP (Outer) Sachin Sharma says.

Once immoderate “suspicious individuals” are taken enactment of, specified arsenic a sanction that has cropped up precocious successful the area, oregon idiosyncratic who has resurfaced aft years, a constabulary squad is sent to the states they claimed to beryllium to, a constabulary serviceman says.

“We spell to their villages and conscionable the sarpanch to verify the lineage of their families. We sojourn the section station offices and constabulary stations to verify their addresses. Earlier, we utilized to cod these details via post. But since the L-G’s order, we person been asked to verify it connected the ground,” a constabulary serviceman from the Southeast territory explains.

Modus operandi

Another mode to spell astir it, according to the police, is getting clasp of the agents that facilitate amerciable migration from Bangladesh. On January 2, the Delhi Police, with the apprehension of 4 people, claimed to person busted an alleged syndicate facilitating specified migration of Bangladeshi nationals to India. Two of them, Ashish Mehra and Aminur Ishlam, are Indian citizens allegedly progressive successful forging documents and arranging proscription for alleged amerciable immigrants from states similar West Bengal, Assam and Meghalaya.

The different 2 arrested persons are an alleged “illegal immigrant” Bangladeshi couple.

Police said the 28-year-old Bangladeshi antheral was arrested connected December 28 past twelvemonth from Aya Nagar aft 7 different alleged Bangladeshi immigrants – arrested the aforesaid time from Arjan Garh Metro presumption country – revealed his sanction to the police. During questioning, the antheral disclosed the sanction of his wife, who was besides arrested from Gurgaon connected December 28 subsequently.

The antheral allegedly revealed the modus operandi and way followed by the syndicate to smuggle successful amerciable immigrants from Bangladesh, starring the constabulary to an Indian transporter, constabulary say.

“Call Detail Record investigation led investigators to Ishlam, a nonmigratory of Goalpara successful Assam. He utilized to transport amerciable immigrants from Baghmara, a borderline territory successful Meghalaya, to Krishnai and New Bongaigaon railway stations successful Assam,” says Joint Commissioner of Police (South) S K Jain.

Ishlam was arrested from the Damra out-check station successful Assam and brought to Delhi connected transit remand.

“During questioning, Ishlam revealed the sanction of Mehra, a Gurgaon resident, who allegedly forged documents to facilitate amerciable immigrants,” Jain says. Mehra was arrested.

According to police, Mehra told them during questioning that the amerciable migration of the arrested Bangladeshi mates was initiated by the man’s brother, who helped them transverse implicit to India via the Meghalaya borderline successful 2022. From there, Ishlam took them to Assam.

The mates past reached Delhi, from wherever they were taken to Gurgaon by the brother’s woman to get fake recognition documents prepared. Finally, Mehra took the mates to his associate, an authorised Aadhaar relation moving astatine a slope successful Gurgaon. “Using fake documents, the subordinate got the Aadhaar cards made for them,” Jain says.

The arrested Bangladeshi man, the constabulary say, had often crossed implicit betwixt India and Bangladesh and had travel to India for the archetypal clip successful 2018 successful hunt of amended wages.

“These agents besides uncover the names of galore immigrants and supply copies of their fake documents, which helps successful tracking them down,” a constabulary serviceman says.

The names that bash not get verified, oregon are recovered to ‘not beryllium to’ India, are past rounded up and taken to the FRRO bureau successful Delhi. “The FRRO issues deportation orders for the immigrants. They are past taken to detention centres successful Delhi from wherever they are to beryllium ferried to the borders and deported,” a constabulary serviceman says.

On January 15, a bid near Delhi, taking each the alleged amerciable immigrants from Bangladesh, detained since the commencement of the thrust connected December 10, to the borders to facilitate their return, a elder constabulary serviceman says.

“This (drive) volition proceed for immoderate clip with rigour due to the fact that of the existent governmental scenario… I americium definite you understand. If you recall, determination was a batch of absorption connected radical from Africa, peculiarly from Nigeria, astatine 1 constituent successful time. It volition beryllium enactment arsenic accustomed soon,’’ a elder constabulary serviceman says.

“There is simply a batch of unit to amusement results, peculiarly these days. Otherwise, we person been carrying retired these drives astir each year”.