14 hours ago
Cops detain 18 ‘Bangladeshi' nationals in Kendrapada
Kendrapada: In a crackdown on illegal immigration, police detained 18 people who are suspected to be Bangladeshi nationals residing in India without valid documents. The operation, conducted on Sunday, was based on intelligence reports indicating presence of illegal immigrants in the area.
The arrests were made from places like Rajendranarayanpur and Rangani villages under Talachua marine police station limits and Kereragada and Gopalpur villages under Rajnagar police station jurisdiction. According Talachua marine police station IIC Bimal Kumar Mallick, the detainees were unable to produce valid citizenship documents during interrogation.
"We suspect they must have entered India illegally through unauthorised riverine routes and were residing in coastal pockets of the district without valid documents," said Naresh Sahoo, IIC of Rajnagar police station.
The suspected Bangladeshi nationals are currently held at a detention centre in Kendrapada.
In March, chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi had revealed that 3,738 Bangladeshi infiltrators had been identified across the state, with Kendrapada accounting for the highest number of 1,649. The issue of illegal immigration has been a long-standing concern in the region, with the state govt previously issuing "Quit India" notices to suspected illegal immigrants in 2005.
