SRINAGAR, October 6, 2026 – Authorities in Jammu and Kashmir began the formal deportation of 150 Bangladeshi nationals on Monday who were found to be residing illegally in the Union Territory. As part of an ongoing exercise to identify and remove foreign nationals staying without valid authorization, the group was transported from Srinagar and flown out on a special Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft bound for Bagdogra Airport in West Bengal.
According to officials, the deportation process involves securely transferring the individuals to the Border Security Force (BSF) personnel upon their arrival in Bagdogra. The BSF will subsequently facilitate their repatriation across the India-Bangladesh eastern border. The administration has confirmed that this exercise will continue, with another batch of 150 Bangladeshi nationals scheduled to be deported via a similar IAF flight on October 7.
The crackdown follows an extensive administrative survey conducted with the assistance of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, which identified around 600 Bangladeshi nationals allegedly staying illegally across various districts of the region. Prior to their deportation, the identified individuals were housed at a holding camp manned by the Srinagar Police. Reports indicate that most of these individuals had been working menial jobs, such as rag-picking, in different parts of the Kashmir Valley for several years.
This large-scale deportation drive comes shortly after the Union Ministry of Home Affairs constituted a High-Level Committee on Demographic Change (HLCDC). The committee was established to strictly examine demographic shifts arising from illegal immigration and other related factors across the Union Territory.
Published by True Roots Media Network