GUWAHATI: The Assam Police launched a massive drive to detect illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.
Even though there were no official report on the number of people detained, over 150 people were said to be detained from Guwahati and its adjoining areas alone.
Police sources said the documents of the detainees were being examined.
The drive by police started on Saturday night and dozens of people were taken to a police reserve in Guwahati for the scrutiny of their documents.
Worried family members and relatives flocked to the police reserve.
Senior police officials remained tight-lipped and no clarity was given on whether the detainees were arrested or released.
The drive was followed after a directive from the Ministry of Home Affairs to the states and the Union Territories to identify, detain, and deport illegal immigrants after verifying their documents. A 30-day deadline was set for them.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said those who habitually threaten India on the “Chicken Neck Corridor” must know that Bangladesh has two of its own “chicken necks” and both are far more vulnerable.
“First is the 80 Km North Bangladesh Corridor – from Dakhin Dinajpur to South West Garo Hills. Any disruption here can completely isolate the entire Rangpur division from the rest of Bangladesh. Second is the 28 km Chittagong Corridor, from South Tripura to the Bay of Bengal. This corridor, smaller than India’s chicken neck, is the only link between Bangladesh’s economic capital and political capital,” Sarma posted on X on Sunday.
“I am only presenting geographical facts that some may tend to forget. Just like India’s Siliguri Corridor ( also known as the Chicken’s Neck) our neighbouring country is also embedded with two narrow corridors of theirs,” he further wrote.