NEW DELHI: The Ahmedabad Crime Branch has detained 61 suspected illegal immigrants, predominantly from Bangladesh, during a city-wide crackdown ahead of Diwali to strengthen security during the festive season, police said on Monday.According to news agency PTI, the operation was conducted through intelligence gathering and coordinated raids across multiple zones of the city to identify foreign nationals allegedly residing in India illegally. Legal procedures for their deportation are underway, police said.The latest crackdown comes against the backdrop of repeated operations by Ahmedabad Police to identify undocumented Bangladeshi nationals living in the city.Last year, police detained more than 200 Bangladeshi nationals in separate operations across Ahmedabad, including over 200 people from the Chandola Lake area in April 2025 following the Pahalgam terror attack.In another operation in October 2025, police detained 17 Bangladeshi women who were allegedly living in rented accommodation in different localities of the Sola area while concealing their identities.

The issue extends beyond Gujarat, with India facing persistent challenges in preventing unauthorised crossings along its 4,096.7-km international border with Bangladesh.Ministry of home affairs (MHA) in Parliament. In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha on March 12, 2025, minister of state for home affairs Nityanand Rai said 2,601 Bangladeshi nationals were apprehended along the India-Bangladesh border between January 2024 and January 2025. October 2024 recorded the highest number of apprehensions during the period, with 331 people detained.