Three Bangladeshi nationals were deported from Kendrapara district in Odisha following a special joint operation by the local administration and the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO). The individuals were identified as illegal immigrants during the campaign.
The deported include 65-year-old Mumtaz Khan, 59-year-old Insan Khan, and 70-year-old Amina Bibi, siblings who had been residing in India for several decades. Officials confirmed that they entered India before 1987.
The family originally comprised five members, two of whom have since passed away. Mumtaz Khan and Insan Khan lived in Garapur Bastī under the Kapaleshwar Panchayat of Sadar Block, while their sister Amina Bibi resided in Arun Nagar within the Jambu Marine Police Station jurisdiction. Over the years, they earned their livelihood through labour and small jobs, living alongside the local community.
In recent months, the Kendrapara district administration launched a special campaign to identify and verify illegal foreign nationals. The initiative involved door-to-door document verification in various villages and settlements. The three individuals were found lacking valid Indian documents and only possessed old Bangladeshi identity cards and some local certificates, which did not suffice as proof of citizenship.
Investigations revealed that they had come from Bangladesh during the 1980s and settled in Odisha. Although the Citizenship Act of 1955 and its amendments bar foreigners who entered after 1987 from claiming citizenship, these individuals reportedly arrived before that cutoff. Nevertheless, following directives from the FRRO and the Ministry of External Affairs, the decision to deport them was taken.
As part of the deportation procedure, the three were initially held at Kendrapara Jail for health examinations. They were then transported to Dumdum Airport in Kolkata and sent back to Dhaka in coordination with the Bangladesh government. The Bangladeshi High Commission verified their identities and approved their repatriation.
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