Bengal shelters 335 suspected infiltrators in holding centres
The move follows Adhikari’s tougher anti-infiltration push recently
Kolkata — The West Bengal government has opened 11 holding centres for suspected illegal immigrants under its “detect, delete and deport” policy, and 335 people are currently housed in these facilities, officials said on Friday.
The centres are spread across areas close to the Bangladesh border and other districts. Eight centres operate within police districts (Baruipur, Sundarban, Basirhat, Bongaon, Barasat, Murshidabad, Jangipur and Krishnanagar) and three at district level in Malda, Cooch Behar and Dakshin Dinajpur.
Officials said the 335 detainees include 148 men, 99 women and 88 children, highlighting the human scale behind the numbers. The Home and Hill Affairs Department’s Foreigners’ Branch issued an order on May 23 asking district magistrates to create infrastructure to hold “apprehended foreigners” and “released foreign prisoners” until deportation formalities are complete.
Framed by authorities as a procedural step in line with central guidelines, the timing of the directive follows a sharper public stance from Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, who announced a tougher anti-infiltration approach. The “detect, delete and deport” slogan, familiar from BJP political rhetoric in the state, signals a more assertive posture on border security and illegal migration.
For residents of border districts, the new centres and intensified operations are more than policy — they reshape daily life. Local officials must balance logistical challenges of housing and processing detainees with the sensitivities of dealing with vulnerable groups, including women and children.
Human-rights groups and opposition leaders are likely to scrutinise the centres’ conditions and the procedures used to determine nationality. Questions about legal aid, verification processes and humane treatment are likely to surface as cases move toward deportation or resolution.
How authorities manage those tensions — between administrative efficiency and the rights of individuals caught up in the process — will shape public perceptions of the policy in the weeks ahead. Would you like this rewritten as a short alert or expanded into a piece examining legal and humanitarian implications?