Srinagar, Oct 6: Months-long verification drive by the Jammu and Kashmir Police, targeting migrant workers at orchards, brick kilns and construction sites, has led to the identification of Bangladeshi nationals living and working in Kashmir, officials said.
The exercise, which has been underway for nearly seven months, involved calling migrant workers to police stations and verifying their identities and documents, including Aadhaar cards.
A senior J&K Police officer said discrepancies found during the registration process prompted further scrutiny of some workers. “The workers were asked to produce their Aadhaar cards during a registration exercise and discrepancies in the information provided by them led to further verification,” the officer said.
The official said fresh data was being collected on migrant workers across Kashmir following intelligence inputs regarding the presence of foreign nationals.
Following their initial identification, the suspected foreign nationals were placed in a designated camp while authorities began the process of establishing their nationality. “The details of these nationals were shared with authorities in Bangladesh. Once their nationality was confirmed, we initiated the process to deport them under provisions of the Foreigners Act,” the officer said.
The development comes a day after the Jammu and Kashmir administration deported the first batch of 150 Bangladeshi nationals from the Union Territory. The group was flown from Srinagar to Bagdogra in West Bengal in an Indian Air Force aircraft and subsequently handed over to the Border Security Force for further movement towards the international border.
Another batch of 150 Bangladeshi nationals is scheduled to be deported on October 7, officials said. According to the Police, around 600 Bangladeshi nationals are currently believed to be living in Jammu and Kashmir, with the majority residing in Kashmir and a smaller number in the Jammu region.
“A majority of them are putting up illegally in Kashmir and a very small number in Jammu. We have flown the first batch of 150 to Bagdogra from Srinagar. We will be flying another batch tomorrow,” the officer said.
The deportation process is being carried out in coordination with the central agencies and authorities in Bangladesh. The BSF is expected to escort the deportees to designated transit points in West Bengal before they are taken across the international border.
The action against Bangladeshi nationals comes amid a separate eviction drive targeting Rohingya settlements in Jammu.
Landlords have been served notices to clear plots occupied by Rohingya settlements, following which settlements in areas including Narwal, Karyani Talab and Sunjawan have been evicted, leaving several families displaced.
The developments also come months after a Centre-appointed High-Level Committee on Demographic Changes, headed by retired Justice Prakash Prabhakar Navalkar, began examining demographic changes and alleged illegal immigration in Jammu and Kashmir.
The committee was constituted after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a “High-powered Demography Mission” during his Independence Day address last year.
The committee subsequently met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in July before undertaking a field visit to Jammu and Kashmir. It toured parts of the Jammu region from August 10 to 12 and also visited the Rohingya settlement at Karyani Talab in Narwal.
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