Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari announces 'detect, delete, deport' drive

Kolkata: West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday said the state government will adopt a "detect, delete and deport" policy for illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, excluding Hindu refugees and other communities covered under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). He said such immigrants would be handed over to Bangladesh through the Border Security Force (BSF) in the interest of safety and security of the country.

The CM made the remarks as 75 acres of land was officially handed over to BSF for 27 km of barbed-wire fencing along the Indo-Bangladesh border across various districts. He also said that the CAA would be implemented in Bengal "in the real sense of the term", claiming that the previous government had not done so.


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Chief secretary Manoj Kumar Agarwal handed over the land to the BSF for border fencing and security infrastructure at a programme held at the state secretariat, Nabanna, in Kolkata.

Speaking at the event, Adhikari said the process marked "a historic initiative and a meaningful day" for strengthening border security in both the country and the state. "West Bengal shares a 2,200 km border with Bangladesh. Out of this, fencing has been completed along 1,600 km, while around 600 km is unfinished. The previous government could have handed over land for 555 km, but failed to do so because of vote bank and appeasement politics," Adhikari said during a press conference.

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"The land is being handed over to the BSF within two weeks of our coming to power," he said. "The state home and land departments have worked in close coordination to facilitate the handover of land, along with land for border outposts (BoPs) and BSF infrastructure," Adhikari added.

He also referred to alleged anti-India activities, "land jihad", and "love jihad", claiming that these posed security threats, particularly to women and children.

On illegal immigrants and CAA

Adhikari said the BSF will work in close coordination with all police stations located along the border in West Bengal to identify illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and strictly enforce the law.

"We are implementing the law regarding the CAA, which was enforced by the central government in May 2025 but was not implemented in Bengal. Hindus and other communities mentioned in the CAA who entered India till December 31, 2024, will not be considered illegal immigrants," the CM said. "Those not covered under the CAA will be treated as illegal immigrants, and BSF will hand them over to the Border Guard Bangladesh. All border police stations have been activated and will work in close coordination with the BSF from today," he added.