MUMBAI: Amid an intensified crackdown on illegal immigration, the Maharashtra government on Saturday announced statewide combing operations to trace and deport illegal Bangladeshi nationals, informing the Legislative Council that more than 2,000 such individuals have been deported in 2025 alone, nearly four times the total expulsions recorded over the previous four years combined.
Replying to a Calling Attention motion, Minister of State for Home Yogesh Kadam said over 1,000 of those deported this year were traced to Mumbai. He maintained that Maharashtra has deported the highest number of illegal Bangladeshi nationals in the country.
The debate triggered sharp exchanges in the House. BJP MLC Pravin Darekar alleged there was a “premeditated plot” to alter Mumbai’s demography and claimed that illegal immigrants were operating extensively as hawkers and in sectors such as gems and jewellery. He further alleged that “corrupt doctors” in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had issued bogus birth certificates.
BJP leaders Uma Khapre, Chitra Wagh and Niranjan Davkhare also demanded stringent action.
From the Opposition, Anil Parab and Shashikant Shinde cautioned the government against politicising the issue or targeting any particular community. Parab expressed concern over possible “dehumanisation” and alleged that some government officials may have facilitated illegal entry.
Special teams at every police station
Kadam told the House that every police station has constituted a five-member special team to identify and act against illegal immigrants. He said a recent notification from the Union government has significantly eased the deportation process.
“Earlier, police would arrest illegal immigrants, prosecute them, secure a conviction and only then deport them. Now, if we have proof that they are Bangladeshi nationals, we can directly deport them after due verification, without registering a criminal case,” he said.
Once identified, such individuals are handed over to the Border Security Force (BSF) for further action, Kadam added.
He noted that in some cases individuals had been residing illegally in the state for decades, and some deportees had re-entered India. According to the minister, the common modus operandi involves crossing the border into West Bengal and procuring forged or fraudulent documents such as Aadhaar, PAN and ration cards. Verification drives are being conducted in coordination with multiple departments, he said.
Deportations see sharp spike
Official figures tabled in the Council show that Maharashtra deported 109 illegal Bangladeshi nationals in 2021, 77 in 2022, 127 in 2023 and 202 in 2024. In 2025, the number surged past 2,000, marking a dramatic escalation in enforcement.
Kadam attributed the spike to intensified intelligence-based operations and coordinated drives between police and civic authorities.
Combing drives in slums, construction sites
The minister announced that large-scale combing operations- systematic, high-intensity searches of specific localities- will be undertaken in slums and densely populated urban pockets where the presence of suspected illegal immigrants is believed to be high.
Lists of project-affected persons and licensed hawkers will be scrutinised, and the credentials of workers at construction sites verified as per a standard operating procedure finalised by the department. Contractors found complicit will face legal action, he said, adding that similar scrutiny will be extended to hawkers.
The government has also issued a work order for the state’s first detention centre, with ₹20 crore sanctioned for the project.