Hindu Janjagruti Samiti and allied groups have announced a campaign called ‘Bangladeshi hatao desh bachao’ in the city to identify and deport illegal migrants from Bangladesh.
At a press conference in the city on Monday, the Hindu Janjagruti Samiti said that public rallies will be organised in areas, including the city and Navi Mumbai, where the migrants are suspected to have settled. They asked citizens to report suspected infiltrators to the police.
Though there are no official figures on the number of Bangladeshi migrants in Mumbai, the groups said that they could number around one million. Satish Kocharekar, spokesperson for the Samiti said that many of these illegal migrants live in Dharavi and will get government homes in Mulund as part of the Dharavi redevelopment plan. Vartak demanded that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) should be implemented in Dharavi to weed out infiltrators from the list of beneficiaries. “They are buying homes using fake documents. The state government has formed a Special Investigation Team to detect illegal immigrants. However, only a few arrests are being made. We want the state government to take stern steps to tackle the problem,” said Kocharekar.
Abhay Vartak, another member of the group, said, “The infiltrators are accessing government schemes meant for Indian citizens. They are everywhere, even in Konkan where they are working in mango orchards. Their employers know they are illegal migrants but do not report them to the police,” said Vartak who added that an ecosystem has been created in India to provide Aadhar cards and other residential proof to those who cross into India. He added that the recent arrest and bail given by a court to three suspected Bangladeshi in Chiplun in Ratnagiri district showed that an organised network is aiding the infiltrators. “Police could arrest only three people from a 13-member family. After their arrest, they were helped by a group from Malegaon to get bail,” Vartak added.
Advocate Rahul Patkar said that the infiltrators are displacing local hawkers and are involved in criminal activities like attack on temples, cattle smuggling, and land encroachment. They added that only 70% of the India-Bangladesh border is fenced, offering the infiltrators an easy access into India.
“A jan andolan is needed. Police need help from citizens to locate infiltrators. Give the police information about suspicious residents and hawkers in your neighborhood. The Hindu Janjagruti Samiti will spread awareness about this issue and ensure that every Bangladeshi is evicted from the city,” said Vartak.
