India orders umbrella probe into illegal Bangladeshi immigrants and document fraud

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has sought an umbrella probe into cases involving illegal Bangladeshi immigrants residing in India.

A senior official revealed that during a recent meeting, all states and union territories were directed to probe these cases as umbrella investigations and identify individuals who facilitated the illegal immigrants in obtaining Aadhaar cards and other Indian citizenship-related documents.

The official noted that in some instances, these documents were created to travel to European countries or the Middle East, and the individuals did not remain in India for long.

Investigating officers have been instructed to identify and charge those who assisted illegal immigrants in acquiring such documents.

According to the MHA, between January 2024 and January 2025, a total of 2,601 Bangladeshi citizens were apprehended along the Indo-Bangladesh border. The government has bolstered border security through advanced surveillance, increased manpower, and the integration of advanced technologies.

During the investigation, it has been instructed to identify the loopholes used to generate documents. All suspicious Aadhaar cards have been sent for re-verification, which includes scrutiny of the documents submitted for Aadhaar generation. In a meeting with Aadhar officials, they have been asked to pass instructions to all Aadhar centers to inform the police in case they find any person trying to modify or generate Aadhar on suspicious documents.

In case of confirmation of illegal Bangladeshi nationals, the persons will be kept in the detention centre, and FRRO will be informed to facilitate their safe return as per protocols.In a special operation, Delhi Police arrested more than 20 Bangladeshi nationals who were residing illegally in the national capital.

Measures include Surveillance equipment like Hand Held Thermal Imager (HHTI), Night Vision Device (NVD), UAVs, CCTV/PTZ cameras, IR sensors, and the Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS) pilot in Dhubri (Assam).

To keep check on the issue of illegal border crossing, the Border Security Force (BSF) interacts with Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) at various levels. Further, a Coordinated Border Management Plan (CBMP) signed in 2011 between BSF and BGB exists for meeting of BSF-BGB Nodal Officers.

With inputs from agencies