Outrush of illegal Bangladeshi migrants goes up

The outrush of illegal Bangladeshi migrants from India to their native land has gone up over the past one month, BSF officials said on Friday in the backdrop of the enactment of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. According to a top officer of the paramilitary force, the number of illegal settlers nabbed while trying to cross the border enroute Bangladesh has increased since last month.

"The outflow of Bangladeshi migrants to their native land has gone up in the past one month," said BSF Inspector General (South Bengal Frontier) Y.B. Khurania.

So far in January, the BSF has apprehended 268 illegal Bangladeshi migrants, most of whom were attempting to stealthily cross over to the neighbouring country, the officer said.

Khurania, however, did not say if the increase in outflow happened solely for the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

"The numbers are always changing. There are different factors for this change. So we can't say that it happened only because of the enactment of CAA," he said.

West Bengal shares about 2,216 km border with Bangladesh, a substantial portion of which is unfenced or riverine.

In 2019, the BSF nabbed 2,194 Bangladeshis while they were attempting to enter India from across the border.

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