Delhi: CPI(M) Writes to HM on Human Rights Violations in Immigrant Drive
BRINDA Karat, special invitee to the CPI(M) Central Committee and former Rajya Sabha MP, along with Anurag Saxena, CPI(M) Central Committee Member and Delhi state secretary of the Party, has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah raising serious concerns over the blatant violation of human rights, harassment and extortion, in the ongoing process of “identification of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants” by the Delhi police and other agencies.
In the letter dated July 11, 2025, the CPI(M) leaders highlighted that the drive, being conducted by the Delhi Police and other agencies under the direction of the Home Ministry, had resulted in widespread harassment of genuine Indian citizens, on grounds that they speak Bengali.
They stated that on July 10, they, along with a team of CPI(M) leaders from Delhi, visited the Bawana JJ Colony and met several of the complainants. The visit revealed blatant violations of basic human rights, harassment, and instances of corruption that amounted to extortion.
The letter listed the following examples:
1. Md Nizamuddin, from Godda district, Jharkhand had migrated to Delhi several decades ago. Both he and his wife have family connections in Jharkhand. He was allotted a plot by DDA in 2004 in Bawana JJ colony and presently resides there. On July 5, a team of police personnel from the local thana went to his house and accused him of helping a Bangladeshi to get illegal papers. He explained to the police that the tenant was staying there three years ago and he has no contact and had no idea of the person’s whereabouts. On July 6, the police came back at around 6 am and they handcuffed Nizamuddin and in full public view, as though he is a hardened criminal, literally dragged him to the thana. This time they accused him of being a Bangladeshi. His 28 year old daughter Shabnam followed him to the thana and produced all the documents including the property the family owned in Jharkhand. However, the police beat Nizamuddin abusing him in filthy language asking him to confess that he gave shelter to a Bangladeshi and or else he would be declared a Bangladeshi. The police picked up his entire family including an 11 year old and an 8 year old, abusing them all the time. They were released at 1 am. Again the next day on July 8, at 6 am they were taken to Vijay Vihar police station. Here again they were harassed. Their photographs were repeatedly taken including the photographs of the young women of the family. It is to be noted that no senior officer was present during this period and some junior personnel, including someone from the SHO’s office were doing the interrogation, threatening, abusing and intimidating. After some time they were released. However in the next few days, teams of police from different thanas have been going to their house demanding to see their papers. They were told that all their photographs have been uploaded on a police site and therefore they should expect such police inquiries. This case is a clear example of the lawless behaviour of the police to harass law abiding citizens of India. This family’s reputation, particularly those of the young women, has been shredded by the repeated visits of the police. All such photos should be deleted from police records as the family members are bonafide Indian citizens who have committed no crime. Also action should be taken against those who beat Nizamuddin in custody.
2. Sajan Saudagar Das who lives in the jhuggi settlement in Bawana C block was picked up by the police on May 6. He was taken to Pitampura thana and was badly beaten there by two policemen who abused him saying that he should confess that he is a Bangladeshi. When he pleaded with them, they hit him with lathis, threw him on the ground and kicked him on his ears with their boots. One ear was badly injured. Another police officer checked his mobile phone and then said that he was picked up “by mistake.” They later told him they had got “information” that he was speaking in Bengali and so they picked him up. This is another clear case of human rights violation.
3. We met three aged women from 60 years to 70 years who were brought to India from Bangladesh by their parents decades ago when they were children. Their parents have died years ago. These women have married in India, their children have been born and educated here and have their own families. All three of them are widows. They were picked up by the police and taken to the police chowki in Sector 5 where they were kept for three days and nights. All their documents were taken away from them. They were produced before an officer in RK Puram, their bio-metrics taken and then they were sent back to their jhuggis. Here too police from different thanas are going to their jhuggis to question them. They have lived in India for decades and their children are Indian citizens by birth. They have no families in Bangladesh. They live in terror every day that they will be forcibly deported. This treatment to such poor, vulnerable single women is inhumane and unjust.
4. Similar instances are there from other places in Delhi. For example in May, in Vivekanand Camp, Chankayapuri, the police took away all ID papers of Bengalis living in the area. It was also reported that police personnel were demanding money to return the papers. When some responsible social activists inquired into this and met the police, the senior officer said he had not given any such orders. Later, the papers were returned. In two other instances, the Crime Branch personnel from Kamla Nagar and Malviya Nagar picked up two citizens of India, who are Bengali Muslims and kept them in custody. They had proof of their birth and home in West Bengal, yet they were harassed. This happened on June 24.
5. On June 26, in a shocking incident, eight Bengali migrant workers living and working in Delhi were forcibly sent to Bangladesh despite having proof of their residence in Paika village in Birbhum district, West Bengal. Among them were a woman and a 5-year-old child. What would be their plight in Bangladesh? Now their family members in Paika village are forced to undertake the expensive and difficult task of approaching the courts for justice.
The process of identification of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh in the capital of India is an example of violation of basic human rights. In the process, genuine Indian citizens are being targeted on grounds of language and religion. The CPI(M) leaders asked, “Is it now a crime in India to speak Bengali? Further, are all Bengali speaking Muslim citizens of India to be treated as criminals and illegal immigrants?” They reminded the Home Minister that 26 per cent of the population of West Bengal are Bengali speaking Muslims, and that there are international norms for deportation of illegal immigrants. The present methods of identification in Delhi violate all such norms, they wrote, and hoped that the minister considers these issues and intervenes to restore human rights, humane behaviour of the law enforcement agencies and adequately compensates the victims for their losses.
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