HC expresses displeasure for deportation only 3459 Bangladeshis

New Delhi, May 22 (UNI) The Delhi High Court today expressed its displeasure when the Border Security Force (BSF) submitted that the Government had deported only 3459 illegal Bangladeshis to Bangladesh between January and April 2006.

Filing a status report before a division bench of Justice M K Sharma and Justice Reva Khetrapal, the BSF said the maximum (1452) Bangladeshis had been sent back to their country from Delhi.

The rest were from West Bengal (1089), Maharashtra (407), Rajasthan (31), Uttar Pradesh (39), Punjab (48), Jammu&Kashmir (nine), Haryana (four), Assam (35), Tripura (17), Meghalaya (31) and other states, said the central security agency, while giving the details.

The Court expressed its reservation at the pace of deportation, saying that the number was very small in comparison to millions of illegal Bangladeshis living in the country.

Government Counsel Mukta Gupta submitted that it was difficult to detect and deport the illegal migrants while conducting a census.

Moreover, the next census would only be held in 2011.

Adjourning the matter till August 2, the Court asked petitioner and advocate Chetan Dutta to submit his suggestions to identify the illegal migrants for deportation to the neighbouring country within three weeks.

The Court also directed the three-member Nodal Monitoring Committee to also find out the ways to identify and deport the illegal migrants.

The nodal agency is headed by Union Home Secretary and has Intelligence Bureau (IB) Director, Delhi Police Commissioner, Secretary RAW and other officials as its member in the Capital. Some of the border states have also fored the nodal agency to identify the Bangladeshis.

The court was acting on a public interest litigation filed by Mr Dutta seeking deportation of illegal migrants.

The PIL filed in the year 2001 had contended that illegal stay of Bangladeshis was not only causing serious law and order problem in the National Capital and bordering districts, but has created extra economic burden on the country.

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