In a major crackdown, the Gurugram police have detained individuals for allegedly staying in the city without valid documents as part of a special drive being carried out in adherence to orders from the Ministry of Home Affairs to identify and deport ‘illegal immigrants’. Over the past week, hundreds of suspected ‘illegal immigrants’ were reportedly sent to detention centres for verification of documents.
However, the drive has drawn widespread criticism over the alleged harassment of detainees and targeting of Bengali-speaking migrant workers from Assam and West Bengal.
A visit on Sunday (July 27, 2025) to the special holding centres designated by the district administration showed that many detainees were being released.
The special holding centre in Gurugram’s Sector 10A, a dimly-lit hall at a community centre, stood empty with only a pile of carpets and a few packets of ‘pav (bread)‘ lying in a dark corner.
“There were around 70 Bengali-speaking people kept in this room three days ago. Most of them were from Assam and West Bengal. They were all kept locked inside this room with four policemen keeping guard outside. But they were all let off two days ago,” said Krishna, the security guard at the community centre.
Pritam, the lone sanitation worker at the centre, recalled struggling to keep the premises clean with numerous detainees sharing a single toilet. “It’s good that they have gone. The police personnel have also left. I hope they won’t return,” he said.
Three other such centres have been set up in Gurugram’s Sector 40, Manesar’s Sector 1, and Badshahpur to detain Bangladeshi nationals and Rohingya refugees found to be staying illegally in the country.
The holding centre at Manesar is also currently empty. According to the security guard, 35 of the 45 detainees were released by the police a couple of days ago, while 10 were taken away in a police vehicle. A constable deployed at the centre said despite the reduced number of detainees, 10 police personnel remained deployed there.
“The holding centre has not been shut. No fresh raids are being carried out as the police are busy holding the two-day Common Eligibility Test across the State. More detainees could come tomorrow (Monday) morning,” said the constable from the Pataudi police station.
He added that he was part of the team conducting raids to identify and apprehend ‘illegal immigrants’, but declined to be identified.
“Special teams have been constituted in each police station to hold the raids, which are mostly conducted in the early hours of the day. The raids have been going on for the past 20 days, but these centres were set up a week ago,” he said.
At the centre in Gurugram’s Sector 40, several policemen were found playing cards and they said there was currently only one detainee. “We are here as more detainees could come,” one of them said.
Gurugram Police spokesperson Assistant Sub-Inspector Sandeep Kumar confirmed that the drive was still ongoing and suspects would be brought to the holding centres for further probe.
“Only those suspected of staying illegally in the country are brought to these centres. Those without identity documents or found making calls to Bangladesh, raising suspicion, are detained for further investigation,” he said.
Basra, a 50-year-old meat shop owner in Chakkarpur’s ‘Macchi Mandi’, said there have been no fresh police raids in the area over the past two days. “The police teams came two or three times last week to check documents, but there have been no raids now,” he said.
Meanwhile, Nuh MLA and former Haryana Transport Minister Aftab Ahmed condemned the treatment of migrant workers from Assam and West Bengal, mostly Muslims, during the verification drive, calling it “inhuman, shameful, and unfortunate”.
Mr. Ahmed alleged that the drive was creating an environment of fear, forcing people to flee Gurugram. Drawing a parallel with the treatment of non-Marathi speakers in Maharashtra, he claimed the Gurugram police were similarly targeting citizens in Haryana. He added that he has brought this matter to the attention of the State Director General of Police.
Published – July 27, 2025 11:20 pm IST
