Govt identifying, deporting illegal immigrants: DyCM

Asserting that concerted efforts were on to identify and deport Bangladeshi immigrants and Rohingyas, Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara said that the government would not allow Bengaluru city to become a sleeper cell for these immigrants.

Replying to BJP member N Ravikumar in the Council on Tuesday, Parameshwara said that a special task force had been set up to arrest illegal immigrants, while BBMP officials and tahsildars of Bengaluru had been directed to identify such persons who have acquired ration cards illegally and have settled in areas like Sarjapur, Bellandur, Whitefield and Marathahalli.

“Illegal immigration from countries like Bangladesh and Myanmar has been prevalent in Bengaluru for a long time. However, their numbers have increased in the last five to six years,” he said.

Parameshwara, who is also the Home Minister, said that the government had become more cautious about illegal immigrants after the National Investigation Agency arrested a few of them in Bengaluru, in the Bodh Gaya blast cases, a few months back.

A total of 18 illegal immigrants from Bangladesh had been identified in the last six months, the deputy chief minister said. Police have identified 177 Rohingya refugees in the state, he said.