By Dharmesh Prajapati

The Ahmedabad police have apprehended 166 people, allegedly Bangladeshi nationals living without adequate documents in the country.

According to officials, the police is also interrogating over 150 people, including women and children, who are suspected of having been residing in the country without documents.

Crime Branch Joint Commissioner of Police Sharad Singhal said the action was taken as part of the ‘Operation Delta Hunt’, decided during a meeting held under the chairmanship of Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi, where it was disclosed that a significant number of Bangladeshis had entered Gujarat illegally.

City Commissioner of Police GS Malik said over 30 teams, comprising personnel from the Crime Branch, SOG Squad, and various local police station officials from Naroda, Danilimda, Vatva, Vatva GIDC, and Juhapura, were deployed for the operation.

“More than 300 suspicious individuals, including men, women, and children, were rounded up. Of these, 166 have so far been confirmed to be Bangladeshi nationals who entered the country illegally and were residing without authorisation,” Malik said.

He said interrogation of the remaining 150-plus individuals is currently underway. The officer claimed that among the 166 “confirmed” Bangladeshis, some individuals had fraudulently obtained Aadhaar cards.

“Interrogations are ongoing to determine how they managed to do this; how they remitted money; what kind of work they performed, and the specific methods they used to enter the country illegally. Further action will be taken in due course,” the official said.

“Just as 465 illegally residing Bangladeshi nationals were deported last year, these individuals, too, will be deported shortly,” he added.