Representative image of an arrested man.
Credit: iStock Photo
Kochi, Kerala: In one of the biggest crackdowns on Bangladeshi nationals residing illegally in India, police in Kerala have arrested 27 illegal migrants who are believed to have entered the country by wading through a shallow section of a river along the India-Bangladesh border.
They were arrested in a joint operation carried out by Ernakulam rural police and the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) in the North Paravur area in the Ernakulam district, police said.
"These Bangladeshi nationals reportedly entered India by crossing a shallow section of a river along the India-Bangladesh border," the Ernakulam rural police said in a statement.
They had been engaged in various types of work in the area and had arrived in North Paravur after staying in multiple locations across India, it added.
All the 27 were arrested from a house rented by Harshad Hossain, a native of Mannam near North Paravur, the statement said.
During interrogation, the arrested individuals claimed that agents in Bangladesh had arranged all their Indian documents.
The arrests were part of an ongoing special operation, 'Operation Clean,' launched by Ernakulam Rural District Police Chief Vaibhav Saxena after the arrest of 28-year-old Thaslima Begum two weeks ago.
Police said an investigation has been launched into the matter. Those who assisted them locally are also under surveillance, it said.
The Bangladeshi nationals were working at various locations in the guise of migrant workers from West Bengal, and a detailed questioning of the arrested is underway, a top police official said.
The arrests were part of an ongoing special operation, 'Operation Clean,' launched by Ernakulam Rural District Police Chief Vaibhav Saxena after the arrest of 28-year-old Thaslima Begum two weeks ago.
Acting on a tip-off about Bangladeshi nationals staying in North Paravur, a team from Ernakulam Rural Police, assisted by the ATS, conducted a search, an officer said.
The arrests were part of an ongoing special operation, 'Operation Clean,' launched by Ernakulam Rural District Police Chief Vaibhav Saxena after the arrest of 28-year-old Thaslima Begum two weeks ago.
A senior police officer said more details could not be disclosed at this stage, noting that this might be the largest arrest of Bangladeshi nationals in the country within a month.
The arrested will be produced before the court after completing the interrogation, he added.
With these arrests, the number of Bangladeshis detained in the Ernakulam rural district police limits this month has risen to 34, police added.
The police on Thursday also arrested two Bangladeshi women from here for illegally staying in India.
According to the police, Kobitiba (22) and Rubina Sheikh (19) were arrested from Kodanadu in the Ernakulam rural police limits.
The checks would be intensified as part of 'Operation Clean', Saxena, who is leading the probe, said.