Infiltrators held by police to be handed over to BSF for deportation, Bengal implements rule: CM

State police will detain them and hand them over to the BSF, Adhikari said.The BSF would then coordinate with the BGB, the border authorities of Bangladesh, for initiating the deportation process, he said.The BSF will speak to the BGB and take necessary steps to deport them.

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday announced the implementation of a mechanism in which infiltrators nabbed by the state police will be handed over to the BSF for deportation.

However, those communities covered under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) will not come under the purview of the mechanism, Adhikari said while addressing a press conference at the state secretariat Nabanna.

He said that the state government decided to operationalise a provision conveyed by the Centre last year regarding direct transfer of infiltrators to the BSF.

''A letter had been sent by the Centre to the state on May 14 last year regarding the direct handover of infiltrators to the BSF, but the previous government failed to implement this important provision. We have now enforced it,'' the CM said.

Adhikari alleged that the previous Trinamool Congress administration opposed the CAA and did not operationalise the mechanism sought by the Centre.

Referring to provisions under the CAA, the chief minister said seven communities covered under the citizenship law and who had entered India before the prescribed cut-off date would not face action.

''Under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, seven communities have been named and those who came till December 31, 2024, are protected, and the police cannot detain them,'' he said.

He added that those not covered under the Act would be treated as infiltrators. ''State police will detain them and hand them over to the BSF,'' Adhikari said.

The BSF would then coordinate with the BGB, the border authorities of Bangladesh, for initiating the deportation process, he said.

''The BSF will speak to the BGB and take necessary steps to deport them. From today, this law is being implemented,'' Adhikari said.

He said instructions had already been communicated to the state's top administrative and police officials.

''We have informed the DGP and the home secretary that this law will be implemented in all police stations in border areas for the sake of West Bengal and India's security,'' he said.

Adhikari said the process of identifying and acting against infiltrators would begin immediately, describing it as part of the government's broader push on border management and internal security.