A sweeping crackdown across Gujarat has led to the detention of over 550 Bangladeshi immigrants living illegally in Gujarat, with the majority more than 100 individuals apprehended in Surat during an overnight operation, authorities said on Saturday, PTI reported.
Led by Gujarat Police in collaboration with the Special Operations Group (SOG), Crime Branch, Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU), and local police units, the coordinated raids also covered Ahmedabad, where over 450 suspected illegal immigrants were detained in the early hours of the morning. Officials confirmed that those detained had entered India without valid documentation and were living in the country using forged papers.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (SOG) Rajdeep Singh Nakum stated that the Surat detentions followed intelligence inputs and that the individuals would be deported following verification and interrogation. “They had entered India illegally and were living with forged documents. After the investigation, they will be deported to Bangladesh,” he said.
In Ahmedabad, the operation began at around 3 a.m. and was executed by teams from multiple wings including the Economic Offences Wing and Zone 6. According to DCP Ajit Rajian, more than 400 people were taken into custody from the Chandola area, a locality flagged in recent intelligence reports for harbouring undocumented immigrants.
Sharad Singhal, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch), said that the drive was carried out under direct orders from the Home Minister, Commissioner of Police, and Director General of Police. He noted that prior to this operation, two FIRs had been filed since April 2024, leading to the arrest of 127 Bangladeshis and the deportation of 77.
The Gujarat crackdown follows a wider national pattern, with Delhi Police simultaneously launching its own probe into illegal immigration networks facilitating the entry and settlement of Bangladeshi and Rohingya nationals. Six FIRs have been registered in the capital, and Special Investigation Teams are now looking into what has been described internally as a “mother conspiracy” involving agents creating forged Indian identity documents and arranging housing and employment.
In recent weeks, multiple arrests have been made in Delhi, including individuals who had been residing in the city for decades under fake identities. The ministry of home affairs has called illegal immigration a matter of national security and has instructed law enforcement agencies to pursue such networks with urgency.