BENGALURU: A major controversy has erupted in Bengaluru over the presence of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. Public TV conducted a reality check at Shanti Layout in KR Pura which revealed several Bangladeshi nationals living in sheds. The immigrants had fake Aadhaar cards and were using illegal electricity connections.
One immigrant, Jahangir Mandal, admitted to paying Rs 3,000 for a fake Aadhaar card. Another, Noor Zaman, had been in Bengaluru for six years, working as a plastic bottle collector with no identification documents. Some had been living in the city for 15 years.
The immigrants, who have been living in the city for years, claim they were brought to Bengaluru for work and are being exploited. Some have fake documents, while others have no identification.
The reality check sparked outrage, with locals demanding action against the immigrants and those facilitating their stay. In response, the police launched an investigation and detained several immigrants. In a separate incident, a West Bengal man, Salim Sheikh, was attacked by Bangladeshi immigrants for telling them to leave. The police detained some immigrants involved in the attack.
“I was having tea and said I told them that the border has been opened and they can go back. Suddenly, they started thrashing me and abusing me. I don’t know how many people are here, but people from one shed cannot go to another shed”, Sheikh told Public TV.
The police have taken action against immigrants with fake documents, landowners providing shelter to the immigrants and middlemen exploiting immigrants. The issue has sparked outrage, with locals demanding stricter immigration laws and action against those facilitating illegal immigration.
