Nationwide IB Alert: Illegal Bangladeshi immigrants being tracked, says police

Bengaluru: The Intelligence Bureau has sounded an all India alert on mapping and increasing surveillance on illegal immigrants from Bangladesh following the Burdwan blast in West Bengal on October 2 in which the so called ‘defunct’ proscribed terror organisation – Jamaat ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) – is reportedly involved.

But for the blast inside a house, which claimed the lives of two people – a localite Sovan Mondal and alleged Jamaat ul Mujahideen Bangladesh operative Shakil Ahmed, the police would not have even sniffed the terror trail, which is said to have sinister connections with jehadi outfits – JMB, Harkat ul Jihad al Islami (HuJI) and the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT).

HuJI and LeT are based in Pakistan, but have affiliations in Bangladesh, which are used for anti-India propaganda. “The IED factory inside the house, where the blast took place in Burdwan was manufacturing socket bombs made of explosive material, which were sourced from Bangladesh. The IEDS were also meant for targets there,” said an official source in the Criminal Investigation Department in West Bengal police.

Karnataka police have, meanwhile, sought information on the blast from the West Bengal police on any possible connections here and the support network of Jamaat ul Mujahideen Bangladesh. “The October 2013 Patna rally blast was reportedly funded by a woman in Mangalore, who was later arrested. We are seeking information if the blast has any connection with Karnataka, because there are many illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and other countries, who are living here incognito.

Many of them have fraudulently acquired ration and Aadhar cards and it is very difficult to identify them,” said an official source. While the exact number of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in Bengaluru is not known, according to police sources it could be around 5,000 people, who are living in extreme poverty in city slums.
The police had recently rounded off 75 illegal Bangladeshi immigrants from a slum in Marathahalli in May. They were repatriated to their country.

“We are working closely with the Central and State Intelligence agencies on tracking the illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the Rohingyas from Myanmar,” the officer added.

5,000 illegal Bangladeshis

According to police, there are around 5,000 illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, who are living in extreme poverty in slums. “Officially there are 30 Bangladeshis, who have been booked for visa violations because they have overstayed. While they have overstayed on medical grounds they should have got their visas extended,” said an officer.