- West Bengal to set up holding centres in every district for suspected illegal immigrants
- Suspects can be held in these centres for up to 30 days during verification and repatriation
- Centres will also house foreign prisoners released from jails and those awaiting deportation
The West Bengal government has issued an order to set up "holding centres" across the state for illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.
These centres will come up in every district to house people who get detained under suspicion of being Bangladeshi national or Rohingya.
The suspects can be kept in the holding centres for 30 days, the government said.
It said the holding centres may also be used not only for those recently detained on suspicion of being infiltrators but also for individuals previously arrested and incarcerated, for whom the process of deportation is underway.
"The process of repatriating individuals - whether Bangladeshis or Rohingyas - who have been apprehended while residing illegally in this state is being initiated. Holding centres will be established across the districts for this purpose," the government said.
"These centres will be utilized to house illegal infiltrators as well as foreign prisoners released from jails within the state. Instructions are hereby issued to take the necessary steps for the establishment of these centers," the state government said.
The Centre had previously issued directives to identify and repatriate infiltrators. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari recently held a press conference at Nabanna, stating that the previous administration failed to comply with those directives from the Centre.
Since his government assumed power, the relevant laws regarding this matter have been implemented within the state. Individuals who do not fall under the purview of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) will now be immediately identified and arrested.
They will be handed over directly to the Border Security Force (BSF), which will then undertake the process of repatriating them to their respective countries. Following Suvendu's announcement, the state government also issued formal directives to this effect.
