Home minister R.R. Patil on Wednesday admitted in the state Assembly that the intrusion of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh was on the rise in Navi Mumbai, Thane, Pune, and Nashik. The police has arrested 7,698 illegal immigrants in the last four years. Mr Patil announced that the ‘I’ branch of the Mumbai police would be provided more powers to take action against illegal immigrants across the state. Currently, the jurisdiction of this branch is limited to Mumbai only. The issue was raised by leader of Opposition Eknath Khadse through the calling attention motion. Replying to this, the Mr Patil said, “These illegal immigrants come with residential proof of West Bengal, which makes the process to nab them difficult. With the help of such fake certificates given by sarpanchs, they easily create pan cards, ration cards and voters identity card as proof of their Indian nationality.” Mr Patil said that the police has found that contractors in the real estate sectors are involved in the appointment of the labourers at cheaper rates. We are contemplating taking action against such contractors and also the employers of such illegal immigrants. “Since there is no demarcated border between India and Bangladesh, the home department is planning to request the Central government to seal the borders adjoining Bangladesh as action at a later stage becomes difficult for the local police,” he added. He informed the House that between 2009 and February 2013, 7,698 illegal immigrants from Bangladesh were arrested and deported back to their country.
