Ready to detain, but no one to run it: Why nobody wants the keys to Mumbai’s detention centre for illegal migrants
While crackdown on Bangladeshi nationals in Mumbai has gathered pace over the past year, the detention centre meant to support it remains locked up. Here's why.
The proposed detention centre in Mumbai. (Express photo by Akash Patil) As the ruling Mahayuti government ramps up rhetoric on cracking down on illegal Bangladeshi nationals, a detention centre built exclusively to hold such migrants before deportation has remained unused for months – a casualty of bureaucratic deadlock over who should run it.
The two-storey facility at Bhoiwada in central Mumbai has been “almost ready” for several months. It has 20 rooms, each with two bunk beds on either side, and can hold up to 80 persons.
According to sources, the Social Justice and Special Assistance department thinks their staff are not equipped to handle foreign nationals picked up by the cops. Police officials, in turn, say the migrants are neither accused in a criminal case nor in judicial custody, and therefore not theirs to keep. Nobody wants the keys.
In the meantime, Bangladeshi nationals detained for staying illegally are being held in police station lock-ups until they are put on a train to the Indo-Bangladesh border and “pushed” across. Last year alone, Mumbai police acted against 1,058 such nationals.
The proposed detention centre in Mumbai. (Express photo by Akash Patil)
The Maharashtra government had in July 2024 approved two detention centres in the state for illegal foreign nationals. A Government Resolution issued on July 25 envisaged a temporary facility at Bhoiwada to hold 80 persons, and a permanent one at Balegaon SRPF grounds in Navi Mumbai with capacity for 213. While the Navi Mumbai centre has gone through tendering, it will be some time before it is operational, an official told The Indian Express.
The crackdown on Bangladeshi nationals has gathered pace over the past year, but the detention centre meant to support it remains locked up.
“Initially we were hoping the detention centre would be operational last year. The deadline was then revised to February. Now we are hopeful it will at least start in March,” an official said.
The two-storey facility at Bhoiwada in central Mumbai has been “almost ready” for several months. It has 20 rooms, each with two bunk beds on either side, and can hold up to 80 persons. (Express photo by Akash Patil)
A senior police officer said the detention centre will fall under the Social Justice and Special Assistance department, as per new MHA guidelines. The shift reflects a broader change in strategy: unlike earlier, when illegal Bangladeshi nationals were prosecuted, had FIRs registered against them and were kept in prison pending trial, they are now directly pushed back without prosecution. This means they can no longer be held in police station lock-ups or jails and doing so would amount to illegal detention.
The detention centre at Bhoiwada was the answer to that problem. Crucially, it will not be manned by a law enforcement agency but by the SJSA, precisely because those held there are not criminal accused but illegal immigrants awaiting deportation.
As first reported by The Indian Express in May last year, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs issued fresh instructions to all states and Union Territories to detect, identify and deport illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar – giving a 30-day deadline to verify the credentials of those claiming to be Indian citizens. If no verification report is received within that period, the suspected illegal immigrant is to be deported. The instructions also ask states to set up district-level detention centres, which is a significant change from the earlier process, where verification could go on for months with no fixed timeline.
An officer said that initially the SJSA department cited delays caused by pending renovation work by the Public Works Department and the need for police deployment. “Now the PWD work is done, we send our officer to the SJSA department almost every day to hasten the process and clear any possible issues to ensure the centre is opened soon,” a senior police official told The Indian Express.
Officials from the SJSA, however, denied any delay on their part, saying official procedures were ongoing at higher levels. Deputy Secretary Babasaheb Solanki said several departments were involved. “Last week, a meeting was held by police where it was pointed out that nearly 10-15 small works like installing exhaust fans and cameras are pending, which will be done by the PWD soon. We have also submitted an agreement to the Maharashtra State Security Corporation for providing security, which should be done within the next two to three days. The centre should be made operational soon,” he said.
The proposed detention centre in Mumbai. (Express photo by Akash Patil)
A government source involved in the process since its inception said there had been resistance from the SJSA in the early stages. “Initially, the detention centres were meant for overstaying foreign nationals involved in crimes like drug trade but released on bail. The SJSA senior officials had said that their staff would not be capable of dealing with ‘offenders’ and were reluctant to take charge. Hence, the issue was delayed for a while,” the source said.
The source added that the police could not man the centre since the detainees were not accused in any case. “They were not in police custody or judicial custody, and since foreign nationals were involved, if there was a diplomatic row, this aspect could be exploited,” the source said, adding that detention centres in Goa and Delhi are manned by those from the social justice department.
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