Around 150 detainees flown from Jammu & Kashmir for deportation to Bangladesh

About 150 people labelled illegal immigrants were flown from Jammu & Kashmir to Bagdogra airport in West Bengal on an Indian Air Force aircraft for deportation to Bangladesh on Oct 7. The batch is part of a larger detention of roughly 500 persons identified by J&K police in recent days. Police say most of those held are from Bangladesh and have been kept at a facility on the outskirts of Srinagar. A police officer noted many had lived in the Kashmir valley for years, working in low‑skill jobs such as rag picking. Among the detainees are also Rohingya refugees from Myanmar. The first group will be handed over to the Border Security Force at Bagdogra for onward deportation, while the remaining detainees are slated for further flights in the coming days. The move follows a high‑level committee on demographic changes that visited the Union Territory two months ago. The committee, set up by the Union Home Ministry in May, was told there are 7,656 Rohingya and 504 Bangladeshi nationals in J&K, broken down as 6,737 Rohingya and 46 Bangladeshi immigrants in Jammu and 919 Rohingya and 458 Bangladeshi nationals in the valley. It also received information on 117 legal cases filed against these persons – 101 in Jammu and 16 in the Kashmir region.

Context

The Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir is administered directly by the central government, and the Border Security Force handles cross‑border movements. Rohingya are stateless refugees originally from Myanmar who have sought shelter in various Indian states. Deportations to Bangladesh involve coordination between the Indian Air Force, BSF and civil authorities.