Indian Air Force Aircraft Carrying 150 Illegal Immigrants Leaves From Srinagar: Report

About 150 ‘illegal migrants’ from Jammu and Kashmir have been sent to Bagdogra Airport via an Indian Air Force aircraft.

The 150 deported immigrants were among 500 people who were detained across different parts of the Union Territory. The next batch of immigrants from the UT will be deported on October 7. This action of deportation has come after the high-level committee on Demographic Changes visited Jammu & Kashmir in May, was formed by the Union Home Ministry.

According to The Indian Express, an Indian Air Force aircraft transported a group of people from Jammu and Kashmir to Bagdogra airport in West Bengal. They are expected to be handed over to the Border Security Force and sent to Bangladesh on October 7.

Over the past few days, J&K Police ran a special drive to identify "illegal immigrants" in Jammu and Kashmir, reports Indian Express. Around 500 people were detained. Among the detainees, most of them were from Bangladesh.

According to the report the detainees were moved to a facility on Srinagar's outskirts. Most of the people who were detained used to do menial jobs like rag picking, etc. They were mostly settled in different parts of Kashmir Valley for many years now,” said a police officer.

A committee visiting Jammu and Kashmir was informed that 7,656 Rohingya and 504 Bangladeshi nationals are in the Union Territory. It was also informed that 117 cases have been registered against them.

The figures given to the committee showed a split between Jammu and the Valley. Of the total cases, 101 were in Jammu, and 16 were in Kashmir.

The ruling party in the centre, BJP, has been raising the issue of illegal migrants from Bangladesh vocally for the past few years. It sees this issue as a challenge to national security, public resources, and demographic integrity, consistently advocating for strict identification and deportation measures