Jagatsinghpur/Paradip: Intensifying its crackdown on Bangladeshis and Rohingyas living illegally in the state, Odisha Police Tuesday held 448 people for verification of their documents, an officer said.
While the police in Jagatsinghpur district detained four members of a family residing in the port town of Paradip, 444 persons were brought to two locations for their identification in Jharsuguda district.
“These 444 people in Jharsuguda district are not exactly detained but kept in wait till their documents are verified. We doubt that many of them do not have valid documents to stay in the country,” Himanshu Lal, IGP Northern Range Sambalpur, told PTI.
Lal said these people, suspected to be Bangladeshis, have been residing illegally at different locations of Jharsuguda district. “These people are kept in two locations in Jharsuguda and Brajrajnagar. We are verifying their documents to identify illegal immigrants,” the IGP said, adding that legal action will be taken against the persons found to be illegally infiltrated from Bangladesh.
Jharsuguda SP Parmar Smit Parshottamdas said a special task force (STF) has been formed in Jharsuguda district to identify and deport illegal Bangladeshis and Rohingyas, as per the instruction of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
Sources said that these people are kept at the centre set up at Black Diamond College of Engineering & Technology, Jharsuguda (for Jharsuguda sub-division) while 261 suspects detained at Surabhi Kalyan Mandap at Brajrajnagar (for Brajrajnagar sub-division).
Similarly, Paradip Police in Jagatsinghpur district said that it detained four members of a family comprising a man, wife, a son and one daughter while they were staying at a house under the Lock police station area in the port town.
Paradip Lock police station Inspector-in-Charge Rashmiranjan Das, said that the four persons were picked up from Zardari Pada area and taken for detention. “They have confessed to have entered India by crossing a river from Bangladesh and stayed for some time in Kolkata before coming to Paradip,” the officer said.
The family came to Paradip by bus 8 days ago with the help of their relatives living in Zardari Pada and staying at a rented house. The police have also started questioning the man who helped the family to settle in Paradip.
Meanwhile, officials, including Kujang Tehsildar and the local Sub-Collector, have visited the police station and recorded detailed information about the case. The government has also been informed, an official said.
