MUMBAI, July 25: The furore in West Bengal over deportation of alleged Bangladeshis, in defence of whom Chief Minister Jyoti Basu has gone on record to claim were actually Bengali-speaking Indian citizens, had the State administration strongly defending the process under which the deportations were made.Mumbai Police Commissioner Ronnie Mendonca met Manohar Joshi this evening over the course of action to be taken in response to Bengal's charges. As a sequel to the Calcutta High Court restraining the state government from executing further deportation till further orders, it has been decided to put the deportations on hold for the time being, according to the Police Commissioner.The State Government is awaiting the official communication with regard to the High Court order. The course of action will be determined after thorough legal scrutiny of the Calcutta High Court process.Joining issue with his West Bengal counterpart Manish Gupta, Chief Secretary P Subramanian said there was no practice ofinforming the West Bengal Government on the deportation of illegally staying Bangladesh nationals in Maharashtra. ``Even in the past, we never informed the West Bengal Government. After we decide to deport the illegal residence, we informed the Border Security Force officials, stationed on the India - Bangladesh Border in West Bengal. It is then the responsibility of the BSF to take necessary steps,'' Subramanian told The Indian Express.Replying to a question, Subramanian admitted that the entire process of deportation is very complimented and needs to be simplified. ``At the moment, letters to District Magistrate for identification of foreign nationals illegally staying in the state and on the basis their reports, appropriate orders are passed by the competent authorities,'' Subramanian pointed out.Meanwhile, the Mumbai police clarified that the Bangladeshi nationals were being repatriated between July 20-22 in batches of 24, 34 and 38 respectively. There were escorted by an assistantsub-inspector, two constables and woman police constable.Investigations have revealed that 8,103 Bangladeshi nationals have been deported between 1982 and 1998. Some 582 persons have been deported to Bangladesh during this year.However, a senior police officer, who did not want to be named, said Bangladeshi nationals illegally staying in Mumbai could be estimated around a lakh. They are living in juggis at Reay Road, Dockyard Road, Antop Hill and Cheeta Camp on the Harbour.``In most cases they migrate to the city at the behest of their relative, who are already in Mumbai. It is also the lure of big money that brings them to the city,'' remarked the officer.In a reaction, a former Commissioner of Police said the entire process of deporting foreign nationals illegally staying in the country and particularly in Maharashtra, has to be reviewed.``By deportation, we mean that an official agency will physically handover illegally staying foreign nationals to the designated authorities of that countryso that the actual process of deportation is completed in letter and spirit,'' the commissioner said, adding, so far as the deportation of Bangladesh nationals is concerned, no such process is followed as a result, the even the human rights organisation had condemned the Maharashtra Government for its indifferent attitude towards the foreign nationals.As per the circular of the Special Branch, the policy is to hand over Bangladesh nationals being deported to the Border Security Force personnel on the India-Bangladesh border. Then the BSF officials push them in Bangladesh.``The practice of pushing them in Bangladesh is no legal validity as Bangledesh is not taking any cognisance of such deportation. As a result, such illegal migrants again enter the metropolis in search of work,'' the former Commissioner explained.Secondly, the former Commissioner said the deportation carried out by the State Government, contrary to official claims, has no legal validity as the order is passed by a Deputy Commissionerof Police. ``I feel that instead of a Deputy Commissioner of Police, a designated court should take cognisance of such activities and passed an appropriate judicial order,'' he said. Thirdly, the former Commissioner said there is no financial provision for deportation of such foreign nationals and as such, the progress of such activities is very slow.According to the statistics made available by the police for the last 15 years, 8,103 bangladeshis staying here illegally were deported. As many as 288 were deported in 1982, 225 in 1983, 322 in 1982, 178 in 1984, 148 in 1985, 280 in 1986, 259 in 1987, 497 in 1988, 580 in 1989, 736 in 1990, 750 in 1991, 596 in 1992, 590 in 1993, 617 in 1994, 504 in 1995, 777 in 1996 and 806 in 1997 were deported.
