Holding centres debut in Malda, Murshidabad, already house 12

Malda/Behampore: Forty-eight hours after the Bengal govt asked all 23 district magistrates to set up ‘holding centres' where illegal foreigners — including Bangladeshis and Rohingya immigrants — staying in the state are to be housed before being deported, two such centres debuted in Malda and Murshidabad, two districts that share borders with Bangladesh.The hunt for such centres has started in other Bengal districts as well.Nine Bangladeshi detainees intercepted in Malda and three in Murshidabad were immediately moved to these centres on Monday. They were not produced in court or formally arrested under Section 14 of Foreigners Act, 1946, as was the practice earlier. Instead, officials indicated they are verifying the nationalities of these detainees. Once established that they are Bangladeshis who entered India illegally, they will be pushed back within the stipulated 30 days.The May 23 state govt order asked the DMs "to take initiative/appropriate action for setting up of holding centres in the district for apprehended foreigners as well as for released foreign prisoners awaiting deportation/repatriation in accordance with MHA guidelines." The order follows a Union home ministry guideline of May 2, 2025 detailing the procedure to be followed for deportation of Bangladeshis and Rohingya people apprehended for staying illegally in India. It had remained unimplemented in Bengal for the past year.In Malda, the holding centre was set up on one floor of the govt's training centre for self-help groups at English Bazar.Security was beefed up at the holding ccentre with the deployment of 12 policemen, three civil defence workers and three civic volunteers while CCTV cameras were installed. Cooks were also engaged for this centre. On Monday, nine suspected Bangladeshi women and minors were taken to this centre. They had been intercepted by police in Pandua under Gazole police station. Sources said they had crossed the border through Hili without valid papers. They were identified as Rimi Biwi (45), Golapi Biwi (23), Lovely Biwi (18), Md Rohan (12), Md Golap (10), Julekha Khatun (8), Jaheda Khatun (5), Md Jahidul (7), and Gulshana Khatun (5). During interrogation, they reportedly conceded that they hailed from Imampur village under Mithapukur police station of Rangpur division in Bangladesh.In Murshidabad's Lalgola, the second floor of Padma Bhawan —a fisheries department building — has been converted into a holding centre. Three persons were moved into this facility on Monday. They were caught on Saturday afternoon near the border adjacent to Lalgola while trying to get in using fake Indian passports, forged EPICs and other documents."Cops tracked the three Banglsdeshi nationals. They were sent to the holding centres and after verification they will be handed over to BSF for pushback," Murshidabad district magistrate R Arjun said.Across Bengal, search is on to identify more holding centres. A senior district official in Birbhum said, "Such a centre will be set up within a couple of days to house foreign nationals as per govt's order. Some sites have already been identified."