At least 48 Bangladeshi nationals were apprehended while attempting to illegally cross into Bangladesh through the Basirhat border area in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district, officials said on Sunday (November 2, 2025). The arrests came amid heightened vigilance by the Border Security Force (BSF) following the announcement of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state.
Fear of detention after SIR announcement
According to a senior BSF officer, the detained individuals were trying to leave India, fearing detention or deportation in the wake of the SIR exercise, which involves door-to-door verification of voters’ details by Booth Level Officers (BLOs).
“Most of those arrested worked as domestic help and labourers in Kolkata, North 24 Parganas, and other parts of West Bengal. They feared identification during the verification process and attempted to return to Bangladesh,” the officer said.
Arrests made in two phases
The BSF apprehended 33 Bangladeshis on Sunday and handed them over to the Swaroop Nagar Police Station, while 15 others were caught on Saturday night (November 1).
All of them were later produced before a local court and remanded to judicial custody. In the last three days alone, BSF has detained 89 Bangladeshi nationals attempting to cross the border illegally in the same stretch.
Similar arrests a day earlier
On Saturday (November 1), at least 45 more Bangladeshi citizens, including 11 children and 15 women, were detained at Hakimpur in the same district while attempting to cross the international border without valid documents.
Basirhat SP Hossain Mehedi Rahaman said the infiltrators were intercepted by BSF personnel and handed over to the police.
“They worked in the Kolkata and Rajarhat areas and were trying to return to Bangladesh illegally,” the SP added. All the detainees were produced before the Basirhat court and sent to 14-day judicial custody.
Border security tightened
The BSF has intensified its patrolling along the Indo-Bangladesh border following the SIR announcement and recent incidents of illegal migration. Officials said the security forces are coordinating closely with local police to identify and detain infiltrators attempting to cross either way.
