- Assam is intensifying its crackdown on illegal Bangladeshi immigrants with a two-front approach
- Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said fresh infiltrators and post-1971 illegal settlers would be targeted
- Over 400 illegal immigrants, mainly Bangladeshis and Rohingya, have been deported in 12 months
Assam is intensifying its crackdown against illegal Bangladeshi immigrants with a two-front approach, said Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday, adding that his government would no longer be restricted to daily pushback operations against infiltrators.
Addressing a press conference in Guwahati, the Chief Minister stressed that now, fresh infiltrators as well as those settled illegally after 1971 are being targeted.
"Pushback is happening on two fronts. One, the people who are residing within the state of Assam under the Immigrant Expulsion Act-now we are empowered to push back any foreigner who entered post-1971. By utilising that power, we are pushing back people living inside Assam as well as those who are entering now," said Mr Sarma.
In under 12 months, over 400 illegal infiltrators, mostly Bangladeshis and Rohingya, have been sent back across the border after being detained for illegal entry. "The process is on. The pushback will continue. I have increased it," added the Chief Minister.
