Jammu and Kashmir authorities on Monday deported 150 Bangladeshi nationals found staying illegally in the Union Territory, moving them from Srinagar to Bagdogra in West Bengal on a special Indian Air Force aircraft, officials said.
The deported nationals were handed over to Border Security Force personnel at Bagdogra for onward processing and movement towards the India-Bangladesh border under established procedures.
Officials said the action is part of an ongoing exercise to identify and remove foreign nationals who have no lawful basis to remain in Jammu and Kashmir. A second batch of 150 Bangladeshi nationals is scheduled to be deported on October 7.
According to district-wise figures available with the authorities, 624 Bangladeshi nationals have been identified in the areas covered by the Kashmir division, including 506 in the districts and 118 in other identified categories/locations in the latest compilation.
Among the district-wise figures, Srinagar has reported 115 persons, Budgam 218, Pulwama 221, Kulgam 19, Shopian 25 and Police District Awantipora 26. The figures for Anantnag, after adjustment, stand at zero. Authorities have so far deported 150 persons, while the remaining identified individuals are expected to be removed in successive batches after completion of the required legal and administrative procedures. The use of an IAF transport aircraft reflects a coordinated exercise involving the Union Territory administration, security agencies and the Centre. Bagdogra has been used as a transit and handover point, where the deportees are taken into BSF custody for onward action.
The latest deportation comes against a wider verification and identification exercise targeting undocumented foreign nationals in Jammu and Kashmir.
Figures presented before a high-level committee during its visit to Jammu on August 10 had put the number of Bangladeshi nationals identified across the Union Territory at 504, besides 7,656 Rohingyas.
Of the Bangladeshi nationals identified at that stage, 458 were reported from Kashmir and 46 from Jammu.
The latest district-wise compilation indicates that the number identified in the Kashmir division has since increased, suggesting that the verification exercise has continued beyond the earlier assessment.
District SSPs, and in Jammu and Srinagar the SSP CID, have been functioning as Foreigners Registration Officers for initiating action against identified foreign nationals under the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Deportation Manual, 2025.
Officials have maintained that there is no official record of the government having settled these foreign nationals and have said that many entered or settled through private networks and unauthorised means.
Authorities have also taken action against temporary shelters and makeshift structures associated with alleged unauthorised settlements, particularly in Jammu, after issuing notices to private landowners.
The October 5 and October 7 deportations together would account for 300 persons. Officials, however, have not clarified whether all those being deported in the two batches are drawn from the earlier figure of 504 or whether subsequent verification has added to the list.
Monday’s deportation is among the most significant visible steps in the ongoing exercise.
Authorities are expected to continue the process in phases, with further deportations subject to identification, verification and completion of statutory procedures.