3 min readVadodaraApr 28, 2025 10:41 PM IST
First published on: Apr 28, 2025 at 10:40 PM IST
Since Saturday, Gujarat Police have identified 450 illegal Bangladeshi immigrants even as 6,500 “suspects” continue to be interrogated across the state, Director General of Police (DGP) Vikas Sahay said on Monday. Sahay said that with the special “mega drive” to crack down on illegal Bangladeshi immigrants extended to all districts in the state, the numbers are “expected to be big”.
The drive that began in the wee hours of Saturday, as an aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, has seen the Gujarat Police detain over 6,500 suspected Bangladeshi nationals residing illegally in the state.
Speaking at the state-level police crime conference held in Nadiad in Kheda district, Sahay said, “In the last few days, a special drive to crack down against illegal immigrants from Bangladesh has been initiated… First, mega search operations were carried out in Surat and Ahmedabad. While 890 persons were detained in Ahmedabad, 134 were detained in Surat. Thereafter, in all districts of Gujarat, in the last two days, 6,500 suspected Bangladeshi nationals have been detained and interrogation is on…”
Sahay added that it is imperative to “establish” the identities of illegal immigrants with sufficient proof. He said, “The process is such that we detain them and interrogate them. Their identity has to be established beyond doubt and it is done by verification, interrogation, evidence collection… So, it is a time-consuming process. In the entire state, out of the 6,500 suspected Bangladeshi nationals, 450 have been identified with documentary proof… interrogations are on for the others… At the end of the drive, we expect that a big number of illegal Bangladeshis immigrants will be confirmed. The process of deportation will begin soon after. We will coordinate with government agencies and deport them with the help of Border Security Force (BSF)…”
Over 7,000 ‘anti-social elements’ identified
Sahay also said that in the drive against “anti-social elements” initiated in March, the Gujarat Police has prepared a list of 7,157 identified anti-social elements across the state. “The Gujarat Police has been conducting a strict drive against anti-social elements… Last month, all district police departments and city commissionerates were asked to prepare a list of anti-social elements within 100 hours. The list was prepared and action initiated as per provisions of law… About 7,157 persons have been identified and classified as anti-social… In coordination with various institutions, 372 demolitions of illegal structures have been initiated against these persons while 1,046 electricity connections have been snapped in coordination with utility providers.”
Sahay said that following Monday’s conference, the police departments across the state will be directed to proceed with bail cancellation of repeat offenders. “We have found that repeat offenders, once they are out on bail, violate bail conditions. We discussed it in the conference and it has been decided that all police departments will be directed to proceed with the bail cancellation process…” he added.
Sahay also said that in March 2025, the Gujarat police organised 722 events of “Tera Tujhko Arpan”, in which the police returned lost belongings to citizens. He further said the Gujarat Police recovered refunds worth Rs 13 crore in various cases of cyber crime in March.
Detainees in Ahmedabad paraded to the Gaikwad Haveli HQ of the Crime Branch. (Express Photo/Bhupendra Rana) 
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