CHANDIGARH: Undocumented and illegal Bangladeshi immigrants detained in Gurugram have reportedly told Haryana Police that they paid around Rs 15,000 per person to agents to facilitate illegal entry from Bangladesh into India, with construction sites, illegal settlements along expressways and labour colonies identified as preferred hideouts in the city.
According to police sources, around 13 illegal Bangladeshi immigrants working as daily wage labourers without valid travel or residency documents were recently detained during a special verification drive in Gurugram. They are currently lodged in a detention centre, and deportation proceedings have been initiated.
During interrogation, the detainees reportedly said that more than 100 other illegal immigrants may be residing across Gurugram, Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR), suggesting the presence of a larger network operating in the region.
Following these inputs, Crime Branch teams have launched a large-scale screening and verification drive at multiple suspected locations identified during the investigation.
Officials said the detainees revealed that agents charge about Rs 15,000 per person to facilitate illegal crossings, after which local handlers allegedly arrange documents, accommodation and jobs for the migrants.
Police sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said more than 100 “hotspots” have been identified across Gurugram, including unauthorised settlements, vacant plots on city outskirts, large construction sites, labour colonies and areas along major expressways where such immigrants are suspected to be staying.
Given Gurugram’s expanding construction and infrastructure sector, which employs large numbers of migrant workers, officials said these sites remain particularly vulnerable to infiltration.
Investigators are also examining digital evidence, including mobile phones recovered from the detainees. Cyber experts are analysing call detail records (CDRs), social media activity and GPS location data to trace associates and movements over recent months.
Preliminary findings reportedly indicate the use of multiple WhatsApp groups and chat networks to coordinate illegal entry, movement and settlement across different parts of the country.
Gurugram Police spokesperson Sandeep Kumar said Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs), society managements and landlords have been advised to ensure police verification of tenants, domestic workers and contractual staff, and to report any suspicious activity immediately.
He said day-and-night verification drives have been intensified across identified hotspots, with police conducting citizenship checks and document verification while also tracing possible facilitation networks.
Officials said the ongoing crackdown follows concerns over undocumented foreign nationals using Gurugram’s expanding labour ecosystem to evade detection, leading to one of the city’s largest verification exercises in recent years.
Police also said one of the detainees claimed they entered India illegally via the Kaliaganj border in North Dinajpur district of West Bengal with the help of transnational agents. Documents allegedly establishing Bangladeshi nationality were seized during verification.
