The Kerala government on Monday told the Supreme Court that 57 Bangladeshi nationals who were illegally staying in the state were deported to Bangladesh.
Kerala government told the apex court that no cross-border threat perception existed in Kerala and the state government is taking concrete steps to detect the overstaying foreigners who used forged travel documents or surreptitiously entered into the country.
"No cross-border threat perception existed in Kerala, but the state is having a vast range of coastal areas. Strict instructions have been given to field officers concerned to maintain a close watch on the influx of illegal immigrants through the sea route, by the effective co-operation of Coastal Police, Kadalora Jagratha Samithi and Coast Guard," stated the document filed by the Kerala government.
The Kerala government filed the document on a plea of advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay seeking directions to the Central and State governments to identify, detain and deport all illegal immigrants and infiltrators, including Bangladeshis and Rohingyas, within one year.
The Kerala government has clarified that in the last five years, no case under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 was reported against illegal Bangladesh immigrants or Rohingyas in the state.
It added that in the last five years, out of 70 Bangladesh nationals arrested, 57 were deported to Bangladesh and the remaining 13 are undergoing legal proceedings.
A large number of migrants hailing from West Bengal, Assam, Bihar and Jharkhand are in Kerala, said the State, adding, that directions have been given to the officers concerned to curtail intrusion of illegal immigrants entering the State under the guise of being North Indian migrant labourers.
Upadhyay's plea called for a direction to identify and invoke the National Security Act against government employees, police personnel and security forces, who have links with infiltration mafias and help Rohingyas-Bangladeshis to infiltrate into West Bengal.
