Published : 06 Oct 2026, 12:58 PM
Updated : 06 Oct 2026, 12:58 PM
Indian authorities have moved 150 people identified as Bangladeshi nationals from Jammu and Kashmir to West Bengal for deportation after a survey found around 600 people allegedly living illegally in the region, according to Indian media reports.
The group was flown from Srinagar to Bagdogra on Monday aboard a special Indian Air Force aircraft and handed over to Border Security Force (BSF) personnel, Hindustan Times reports, citing officials.
Another group of 150 is scheduled to be moved for deportation on Oct 7, the officials said.
The Jammu and Kashmir administration, with the help of local police, carried out a survey across the Kashmir Valley that identified around 600 people as Bangladeshi nationals allegedly staying illegally in the region, according to Hindustan Times.
Those being moved for deportation were held at a camp managed by Srinagar police before being transported to Bagdogra, the report said.
The Indian Express reported that Monday's operation came around two months after a high-level committee on demographic changes, formed by India's Ministry of Home Affairs in May, made its first field visit to Jammu and Kashmir.
The High-Level Committee on Demographic Change was tasked with examining demographic changes arising from illegal immigration and other factors and recommending policy, legislative and administrative measures.
The Jammu and Kashmir administration subsequently informed the committee that around 600 Bangladeshis had been identified across different districts of the Union Territory, according to reports.
Bangladesh has previously opposed attempts to send people across the border without verification and established repatriation procedures.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam said in June that any undocumented Bangladeshi nationals in India should be returned through existing mechanisms between the two countries.
"If there are any illegal Indian citizens in Bangladesh or any undocumented Bangladeshi in India, there is a mechanism to return them to their own countries," she said.
Dhaka has maintained that it will not accept unilateral "push-ins" and that the nationality of people identified by India as Bangladeshis should be verified before repatriation.
