West Bengal operationalizes 'detect, delete and deport' policy, opens first holding centre

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NEW DELHI: West Bengal’s BJP government on Monday operationalised its “detect, delete and deport” policy, with Malda becoming the first district in the state to establish a holding centre for illegal foreign nationals. The facility has begun housing nine suspected Bangladeshi nationals, officials said. The holding centre, located at Chandan Park in English Bazar, was made operational after nine people, including three women and six minors, were brought there from Gazole’s Pandua area on Sunday under tight security arrangements, senior police officers were quoted as saying by news agency PTI. Officials said the facility currently remains the only such centre in Malda district and has been placed under layered security cover with CCTV surveillance, deployment of police personnel, civil defence staff and civic volunteers, along with arrangements for food and upkeep. A senior police officer told PTI that the centre was created to temporarily house foreign nationals detained for alleged illegal entry or lack of valid documents. “The holding centre has started functioning. At present, nine Bangladeshi nationals are being housed there. Necessary verification and legal procedures are being carried out. The detainees are being treated in accordance with prescribed legal norms,” the officer said.

‘Detect, delete and deport’ policy enters implementation phase

The development comes days after the state home and hill affairs department’s foreigners’ branch directed all district administrations to establish holding centres for “apprehended foreigners” and “released foreign prisoners awaiting deportation or repatriation”. The move is being seen as the administrative rollout of the BJP government’s anti-infiltration policy in the state. Last week, chief minister Suvendu Adhikari had announced that infiltrators detained by state police would be handed over directly to the BSF for deportation instead of being routed through prolonged legal processes. At a meeting with senior BSF officials regarding fencing work along stretches of the Bangladesh border, Adhikari had said, “Those who are outside the purview of the CAA are infiltrators and will be arrested by the state police and handed over to the BSF.” Under the proposed mechanism, the BSF would coordinate with Border Guards Bangladesh for deportation formalities, officials said.

Linked to Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025

Officials indicated that the holding centre framework is linked to the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, enacted by Parliament last year. The law replaced earlier legislations governing immigration, registration and foreign nationals, introducing a technology-driven system for surveillance, detention and deportation. The law empowers police personnel of head constable rank and above to arrest, without warrant, individuals suspected of violating immigration rules. Under Union home ministry guidelines, suspected illegal entrants can be housed in such facilities for up to 30 days while nationality and documents are verified. District magistrates or equivalent officers would take the final decision on citizenship determination. The process also includes collection of biometric data, uploading records to central databases and eventual transfer of identified illegal immigrants to border security agencies for repatriation. However, certain minority communities, Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians, from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who entered India before December 31, 2024, remain exempt from prosecution under a Union government exemption order linked to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

Political reactions emerge

North Malda BJP MP Khagen Murmu welcomed the move and said those not covered under the CAA should return to their countries. “Our country and our state need protection. Bengal had become a corridor for Rohingyas, terrorists and ‘jihadi’ elements,” he alleged. Senior TMC leader Krishnendu Narayan Chowdhury said the government must be acting on “concrete intelligence inputs”. “If the government is apprehending illegal Bangladeshi nationals, we have no problem. We support the move. But no legal Indian citizen should be harassed,” he said. Infiltration and border security have remained major political issues in West Bengal for years, particularly in border districts and refugee-dominated constituencies where migration and citizenship frequently shape electoral discourse.