In Odisha, Jharsuguda police have detained 444 persons for verification of Bangladeshi citizens and Rohingyas illegally living in India.
Citing an order from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Jharsuguda Superintendent of Police Smit Parmar said that the Special Task Force (STF) has put the suspects in two holding centers in various cities.
“We are verifying their evidence of Indian citizenship and other details such as how he came to Odisha,” he said.
Police sources said that people are engaged in construction activities, mining and various industrial units.
Officials said that after the guidelines issued by the MHA, all the districts were issued instructions to set up STF under the leadership of Superintendents of Police. The STFS will also be assigned a Foreign Registration Officer (FRO) to identify and deport illegal migrants.
District officials have been asked to locate, identify and deport the people who are unable to show evidence of citizenship.
FROS has also been asked to identify holding centers in each district to keep suspects during verification, while the state government has identified an old jail in Astogarh as a state holding center.
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For the BJP coming to power in Odisha in 2024, the identity of illegal immigrants is an important focus.
Since Odisha has a beach of more than 480 kilometers, officials say illegal immigrants come by sea route and settle in coastal districts like Kendrapada, Jagat Singhpur, Bhadrak and Balasore.
Last month, during his visit to Kandrapada, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi asked the district administration to take strict legal action to take strict legal action against Bangladeshi citizens without legal documents. He asked the police to work with the central agencies to deal with the issue, called the move a necessary step towards national security.
As per the answer to a question in the assembly in March this year, Odisha has 3,740 unspecified migrants near Bangladesh. However, officials estimate that the actual figure is very high.
(Tagstotransite) Odisha
