Bengaluru Police Identify 24 Immigrants in Whitefield, Electronic City Drive

Bengaluru City Police conducted a special verification drive, Operation Mukta, across more than 30 locations in the Whitefield division and several areas under the Electronic City division on Saturday to identify suspected illegal immigrants, verifying over 1,909 individuals and identifying 24 Bangladeshi nationals living without valid documents.

Police stated that legal action has been initiated against the 24 identified individuals for allegedly entering India illegally and residing in Bengaluru without valid visas or citizenship documents.

The verification drive in the Electronic City division screened 1,909 people across 29 locations. Parappana Agrahara police checked 355 individuals and identified seven Bangladeshi nationals, while Begur police screened 339 people and identified eight Bangladeshi nationals. Additional screening was conducted by police in Hulimavu, Bandepalya, and Hebbagodi, where 219, 244, and 202 people were checked respectively.

Meanwhile, several civil rights and labor organisations submitted a formal complaint to the Karnataka Home Minister, Director General of Police, and Bengaluru Police Commissioner regarding the execution of the police drive. The complaint was filed jointly by the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), All India Lawyers Association for Justice (AILAJ), Domestic Workers Rights Union (DWRU), and All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU).

According to the complaint, police teams entered slum settlements early in the morning on August 8, between 6:30 am and 7:30 am, and detained several hundred people. The organisations stated that most of those detained were poor, daily-wage, and migrant workers. They alleged that officers entered homes and demanded documents, taking several residents into custody even after documents were produced.

The complaint alleged that residents were taken to police stations, convention centres, marriage halls, and other private properties. Rights organisations further stated that lawyers who attempted to meet detainees faced resistance from police officials and were threatened with legal cases for questioning the exercise. While some individuals were released, others remained in detention under verification without clear information on subsequent steps.