Kerala Police detain 50 suspected illegal immigrants in Ernakulam, 27 admit to Bangladeshi origin

(image for representation)
| Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

The Ernakulam Rural police in Kerala have taken into custody a group of 50 suspected irregular migrants from the North Paravur police stations limits, out of which 27 have reportedly confessed to their Bangladeshi nationality.

The raid was carried out by a 60-member police team led by the Munambam DySP formed by District Police Chief (Ernakulam Rural) Vaibhav Saxena late on Thursday (January 30, 2025) night. The team swooped down on a house where the group was staying with the assistance of the Anti-Terrorism Squad around 11 p.m.

Inner and outer cordons were formed to pre-empt anyone from slipping out of the house. The police had kept the raid under the wraps till it was executed. Bangladeshi passports were recovered from three of the detainees. The interrogation of the detainees lasted into the early morning hours of Friday.

“They have been in Kerala for varying periods and all of them have been working. Most of them had Aadhaar cards. They claimed to have crossed the Bangladesh border and secured Indian documents with the help of some agents. We have to track them down as well. Whether they had been to other States is also being verified,” said Mr. Saxena.

They will be booked under provisions of the Passport Act and the Registration of Foreigners Act, entailing an imprisonment term of two to eight years. They will be produced before the court and remanded. The police will seek their custody for further interrogation.

The latest detentions had taken the number of suspected irregular migrants to 57 this month alone in rural limits, out of which 34 were reportedly from Bangladesh. This was in addition to the six suspected irregular migrants from Bangladesh arrested by the Kochi City police.

Crackdown

A meeting by the Chief Minister and the State Police Chief earlier this month had directed the police chiefs to crack down on irregular migrants on account of the internal security threats they posed.

The Ernakulam Rural police had since then launched a special drive to round up such irregular migrants. The Ernakulam rural limits are known for the large presence of migrant workforce.