Bangladeshi infiltrators detained in Bengal to be handed over to BSF under new rule: CM

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has instructed authorities to hand over detained Bangladeshi infiltrators directly to the BSF for deportation, bypassing court proceedings.

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday said Bangladeshi infiltrators detained in the state would be handed over to the BSF, instead of being produced before courts, in line with a new rule that came into effect a day ago.

Speaking to reporters after an administrative review meeting at the Howrah district magistrate's office, Adhikari said instructions had already been issued to the police commissioner and the Railway Protection Force (RPF) in this regard.

''Since yesterday, the new rule has come into effect under which infiltrators will not be sent to courts but handed over to the BSF at the Bangladesh border,'' he said.

Adhikari on Wednesday announced the implementation of a mechanism under which infiltrators detained by state police would be handed over directly to the BSF for deportation, unveiling what he described as part of a broader ''detect, delete and deport'' framework.

The chief minister did not name the Act under whose purview the newly elected BJP government in Bengal made the policy shift for prosecution of infiltrators.

However, it seemed Adhikari was referring to the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, passed by Parliament in April last year, which aims to provide a modern, tech-driven system for immigration, registration, surveillance, detention, and deportation in India.

''The police commissioner and the RPF have been clearly instructed that if any migrant from Bangladesh, who is not entitled to apply for citizenship under the CAA, is detained at Howrah station, he or she should not be sent to a court. The person concerned should be properly fed and then taken directly to the BSF personnel at the Petrapole border in Bongaon or the border outpost in Basirhat in North 24 Parganas district,'' he said.

Adhikari also said that a weekly report on the number of such detainees would have to be submitted to the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) through the DGP.

The chief minister was accorded a guard of honour at the Howrah district magistrate's office before he chaired a meeting with senior administrative officials.

During the meeting, the chief minister reviewed civic infrastructure and development-related issues concerning Howrah city on the other bank of the Hooghly river.

Adhikari said a coordination committee had been constituted under the district magistrate to ensure clean drinking water supplies, proper drainage systems and other civic amenities in the Howrah Municipal Corporation area.

The committee would be monitored by Municipal Affairs Secretary Khalil Ahmed, he added.

Adhikari also said the state government and the railways would jointly identify and list their respective responsibilities for improving civic infrastructure in the city.

''Our focus is to fulfil the primary needs of the city. We will work on long-term plans and develop Howrah into a modern city,'' he said.

During the meeting, the authorities also decided to complete the HMC ward delimitation process.