Kolkata, May 21: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has instructed police and Railway Protection Force (RPF) officials to send arrested intruders directly to the nearest Border Security Force (BSF) checkpoints instead of presenting them in court.
Earlier, CM Adhikari announced that the arrangement to hand over intruders to the BSF would take effect immediately from Wednesday. During a meeting with police and RPF officials, he emphasized that arrested intruders should be sent to the nearest BSF border posts rather than being brought before the courts.
Speaking to reporters, CM Adhikari stated that any intruder arrested at Howrah Station or elsewhere would not be presented in court. Instead, they would be provided with food and sent directly to a BSF post, either at the Benapol-Petrapol border in the Bangaon sub-division or at the post located in Bashirhat, both situated in North 24 Parganas district.
However, he clarified that this new system would not apply to those arriving as refugees who are eligible for citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
Political analysts believe this stringent measure taken by the Chief Minister is part of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) election promises regarding intruders. Union Home Minister Amit Shah had also made similar commitments during the election campaign in West Bengal.
The Chief Minister further mentioned that his office would maintain weekly updates on the number of intruders arrested and sent to BSF checkpoints. He instructed the state’s Director General of Police to send weekly reports on this matter.
One of the main electoral issues for the BJP in the recently concluded West Bengal Assembly elections was not only to prevent infiltration but also to rid the state of intruders allegedly using fake Indian identity documents.
To achieve the primary objective of preventing infiltration, the process of allocating land to the BSF for erecting barbed wire along parts of the India-Bangladesh border, where fencing was previously absent, began on Wednesday.
Now, the process to achieve the secondary objective of deporting intruders will also commence, following the Chief Minister’s directives to the state police and RPF.
Leave a Comment