Operation Delta hunt nets 51 Bangladeshi nationals across Saurashtra

Rajkot: A coordinated statewide crackdown under “Operation Delta Hunt” through the night of Tuesday into Wednesday netted dozens of suspected illegal immigrants across Gujarat, with Saurashtra and Kutch accounting for a significant share. Police confirmed 51 Bangladeshi nationals detained and around 300 others flagged for verification.

Acting on orders from the state home department, multiple teams combed cities and towns between midnight and 8am. In Rajkot, police identified five Bangladeshi women residing illegally and detained 12 more suspects for document verification.

Rajkot DCP (crime) Jagdish Bangrawa said the city operation deployed two DCP-rank officers, four ACPs, 12 PIs and over 25 teams across all police station limits. “By morning, five Bangladeshi nationals were found to be residing illegally in Rajkot,” he said. The five women were traced to the Kuwadwa Road and University police station areas.

Police detained 12 additional suspects — one man and 11 women — and began verifying their documents. “Some have produced supporting papers. We are checking their authenticity and establishing their period of stay,” Bangrawa said.

Special operation group police inspector N B Chaudhary said three of the women were found in the Kuwadwa Road area and two in the University area. “The three came to Rajkot from Surat a week ago in search of work. One of the two others was earlier living in Maharashtra,” he said. All five had Indian documents, but failed to give satisfactory details about their past, prompting further scrutiny.

In Kutch, the sweep yielded larger numbers. Kutch East SP Sagar Bagmar said teams found around 35 suspected persons across Gandhidham, Anjar, Rapar and Bhachau. “Of these, 27 have been identified as Bangladeshi nationals. Verification of the remaining persons is under way,” he said. Most of those detained were engaged in casual labour,” Bagmar said.

Police across districts said the operation will continue, with teams cross-checking identity papers and tracing movement patterns to establish how the suspects entered and moved within the state.