Signing you in

At least 386 undocumented immigrants held across West Bengal since Monday have been sent to 13 holding centres across eight bordering districts before they are deported to Bangladesh, officials aware of the matter said on Friday.

Dozens gathered near a BSF check post in Bengal’s Hakimpur this week. (X)A police officer said the highest number of undocumented immigrants (around 335) is being held at three centres in Basirhat. He added that they include 109 women and 95 children. The officer said 19 undocumented immigrants have been held in Murshidabad, nine in Malda, and eight in South Dinajpur districts.

The new Bharatiya Janata Party government in West Bengal announced this week that the state has set up holding centres in all districts where undocumented immigrants will be kept before deportation in line with an electoral promise.

Soon after the announcement, dozens of undocumented Bangladeshi immigrants gathered near the Border Security Force’s (BSF) check post at Hakimpur, about 500 metres from the India-Bangladesh border, in North 24 Parganas to cross over to Bangladesh, officials said. “All of them have been sent to the holding centres in Basirhat,” a second police officer said.

Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari warned undocumented immigrants on Tuesday to leave at the earliest, or the government would do what needs to be done. “Are they our in-laws that the country [India] would have to pay for their food, clothes, and medicines?”

Government buildings, including cyclone shelters, motels, and community halls, have been earmarked as holding centres. The undocumented immigrants are being kept there under tight security.

In November 2025, the first wave of thousands of undocumented immigrants gathered at Hakimpur to return to Bangladesh after the Special Intensive Revision of the electoral roll was launched in the state. Many of them had been staying in Kolkata, the city’s outskirts, and other parts of West Bengal for over a decade. Most of those who spoke to HT then had Indian documents, including Aadhar cards, and worked as house helps, e-rickshaw drivers, and sweepers.

A third police officer said the first wave was much bigger. “Back then, thousands had gathered. The second wave started on Tuesday. Until now, we have reports of only around 100 Bangladeshis who have gathered outside the BSF check post.”

West Bengal shares the longest stretch (about 2,216 km) of the 4,096 km India-Bangladesh border. Around 600 km of this stretch remains unfenced, leaving it porous and prone to trafficking, smuggling, etc. The state government has handed over around 142 acres of land to the BSF to set up barbed-wire fences in these unfenced stretches.

Adhikari has directed that detained Bangladeshi immigrants should be directly handed over to the BSF for deportation, instead of being produced before courts, in line with a new rule. Over the past year, people have been “pushed back” into Bangladesh on the suspicion that they are undocumented immigrants.