Kolkata, 21 May (H.S.): West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday directed the police and Railway Protection Force (RPF) not to produce illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators before courts if they are caught, but instead send them directly to the border.

Speaking after an administrative meeting in Howrah, the Chief Minister said instructions had been issued to the Police Commissioner and the RPF that Bangladeshi nationals who do not fall under the ambit of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and are caught at Howrah railway station should not be sent to court.

He said such infiltrators should be provided food and then taken directly either to the Bongaon-Petrapole border or to Border Outposts (BOPs) in Basirhat for handover.

Adhikari also directed officials to maintain weekly records of infiltrators being detained. He said the Director General of Police (DGP) would have to send a weekly report to the Chief Minister’s Office.

The Chief Minister stated that the Centre had issued guidelines on the matter last year, but the previous state government had allegedly failed to implement them. He said the new government had started enforcing those directives from Wednesday onward.

Under the CAA, refugees belonging to six communities — Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians — who came to India from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan due to religious persecution or fear of persecution before December 31, 2024, are eligible for protection and cannot be deported.

Adhikari said those not covered under the CAA should be detained and handed over directly to the Border Security Force (BSF).

The issue of illegal infiltration had been a major political theme during the recent Assembly election campaign, with the BJP promising strict action against infiltrators if voted to power. Following its electoral victory, the new government has now begun implementing measures in that direction.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey