159 Bangladeshi, 24 Pakistani nationals settled in K’taka detained: Home Minister

Belagavi (Karnataka), Dec 19 (IANS) Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara stated in the Legislative Council in Belagavi Suvarna Vidhana Soudha on Thursday that the state police have detained 159 Bangladeshi nationals and 24 Pakistani nationals staying illegally in the state. In addition to this, investigations revealed that 115 illegal immigrants from Bangladesh have been living in Karnataka.

The question in this regard was raised by BJP MLC D. S. Arun in the Council.

Parameshwara, answering the question stated, “A special unit has been formed to look into the matter of illegal immigrants and tracking them down. Illegal immigration into Indian territory is not a new phenomenon. Illegal immigrants are coming into the country in lakhs.”

“The Indian soldiers are preventing their entry at the borders and in spite of soldiers monitoring the borders, the question remains to be answered how the illegal immigrants manage to sneak into our territory,” Parameshwara underlined.

“We have taken up the task of tracking them down and every year we are verifying and gathering inputs about these persons and deporting them back to their countries,” Parameshwara stated.

Apart from Pakistan and Bangladesh, people from African countries are coming to India and indulging in drug trafficking. “They come to India on student visas and indulge in drug trade. To track them down, the state police department has formed a Special Task Force at the district level,” he stated.

“The state government is constantly engaged in tracking the foreign nationals who are staying illegally in Karnataka,” Parameshwara underlined.

In September, Bengaluru Rural police arrested 17 Pakistani nationals, who were illegally living in Karnataka under Hindu names. The police had filed a chargesheet before a court stating that they forged documents to live in the country.

The police had filed the 1,200-page charge sheet and charged the accused of cheating, forgery, and violating the rules of the Passport Act.

Parameshwara had earlier questioned, "If it is true that the illegal immigrants have been staying in India for 10 years, why did not the intelligence agencies and other institutions track them? Even though the passports were done after much scrutiny, they managed to get them.”

"Many from Bangladesh have come to India. Every day we are nabbing illegal migrants from Bangladesh and deporting them back. They keep on coming. The borders are porous in Bangladesh, the situation has to be tightened at the borders. It is a matter of concern for the Union government and the military,” Parameshwara had stated.

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