NEW DELHI, May 11 - At least 43,000 Bangladeshi nationals, who entered India on valid documents, have vanished during the last four years, whereas only 19,995 could be deported during the same period. Revealing this, Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju said in a Rajya Sabha reply that the highest number of 24,364 disappeared in 2011, while 6,761 was deported the same year. Last year, only 116 Bangladeshi nationals disappeared, while 474 were deported.
The illegal immigrants fall into two categories: foreign nationals who have entered India on valid travel documents and found to be overstaying, and foreign nationals who have entered the country without any valid travel documents. A number of Bangladeshi nationals who came to India on valid travel documents have been found to be overstaying after expiry of their visas, he said.
�There are also reports of Bangladeshi nationals having entered the country without any valid travel documents. As entry of such Bangladeshi nationals into the country is clandestine and surreptitious, it is not possible to have accurate data of such Bangladeshi nationals living in various parts of the country, he said.
Passing the buck to the State Governments, Rijiju said that powers of identification, detention and deportation of illegally staying foreign nationals, including Bangladeshi nationals, have been delegated to the State Governments under Section 3(2)(c) of the Foreigners Act, 1946.
In Assam, the detection and deportation of illegal migrants are done through the Foreigners Tribunals established under the provision of Foreigners Tribunal Act, 1946. Altogether 100 Foreigners Tribunals are working at present towards detection and deportation of illegal migrants in Assam, Rijiju said.
The Supreme Court of India has directed, in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 562/2012, to prepare an action plan for detection and deportation of illegal Bangladeshi migrants in Assam and also effective guarding of the India-Bangladesh border. Pursuant to the directions passed by the Supreme Court, an action plan has been prepared. Implementation of the action plan is monitored periodically.
The BSF has identified 19 vulnerable patches/border outposts along the Indo-Bangla border. Security has been strengthened and close vigil is being kept along the identified vulnerable patches.
Moreover, Bangladeshi authorities have been urged to take effective steps to check the illegal infiltration of their national into India, especially through vulnerable and riverine areas, he said.
