BJP urges govt to check on Bangladeshi immigrants

BJP legislators led by MLC Lahar Singh Siroya handed a memorandum to Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara requesting action against the rising number of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.

In their letter on Thursday, the leaders pointed to the Intelligence Bureau alert and expressed concern that several illegal Bangladeshi residents in Assam whose names do not feature in the National Register of Citizens (NRC) could move to Karnataka. “There are more than four lakh illegal immigrants from Bangladesh in Karnataka as per reports. Unfortunately, successive state governments have neglected the issue and failed to utilise the police to check on the law and order issues,” the leaders stated in their letter.

“In fact, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy had previously raised the issue in April 2015 and presented an account of illegal settlers from Bangladesh in various parts of Bengaluru,” they added. They said most of these immigrants have obtained identity proof including Aadhar card, voter ID and PAN card meant for only Indian citizens. They are also involved in drug peddling, murders and human trafficking.

It was estimated that around three lakh immigrants are residing in Bengaluru and largely settled in areas such as Jakkasandra, Iblur, Devarabisanahalli, Kadubeesanahalli, Somasundarapalya, Munnekolala and other areas. Illegal immigrants have also settled in Dakshina Kannada, Mandya, Kolar, Ramanagara, Mysuru and Belagavi districts. Parameshwara assured to instruct the police department to identify the immigrants and take suitable action.