The Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Police Commissionerate has completed the deportation of 42 Bangladeshi nationals who were found to be residing illegally in Odisha’s twin cities, while six others are still awaiting repatriation after being shifted to the state’s holding centre at Athagarh.
The latest figures were shared by police on Wednesday, showing that enforcement agencies had identified 48 Bangladeshi nationals across the commissionerate’s jurisdiction. Authorities said all of them were traced following intelligence inputs on the movement of illegal infiltrators into Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. After their detention, officials initiated the legal and diplomatic procedures required for deportation.
Police Commissioner Suresh Dev Datta Singh said the operation was launched after the commissionerate received credible information about Bangladeshi nationals entering and staying in the two cities. Once their identities were verified, police arrested them and began the repatriation process.
According to Singh, the deportations have been coordinated with the Border Security Force (BSF). While most of those repatriated were escorted to Bangladesh through designated land border checkpoints along the West Bengal border, another batch was flown directly to the neighbouring country aboard a specially chartered aircraft.
The deportation exercise was spread over several phases. In the Bhubaneswar Urban Police District, authorities identified 32 Bangladeshi nationals—comprising 10 men, 17 women and five children, including three girls. Of them, 26 were repatriated in three separate phases between July 2025 and March 2026, while the remaining individuals are among those currently awaiting final administrative approvals.
The Cuttack Urban Police District separately deported 16 Bangladeshi nationals through three operations carried out over nearly a year. Fourteen were sent back in July 2025, followed by one deportation in August 2025 and another in July 2026.
Police said every repatriation was carried out through established procedures, with deportees either handed over at designated land transit points on the India-Bangladesh border via West Bengal or flown directly to Bangladesh under special arrangements, depending on operational requirements.