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The Delhi Police has apprehended 25 Bangladeshi immigrants, including 23 from Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur Dehat, an official said on Thursday. According to police, five are minors and 10 are women among the apprehended. All the accused had been residing in India for the last eight years without any legal travel or residential documents, they said. Police carried out the operation in Delhi following intelligence inputs, which led to the interception of two Bangladeshi nationals, identified as Hasan Sheikh (35) and Abdul Sheikh (37), both residents of Satkhira district in Bangladesh. "On interrogation, they revealed that several of their relatives and associates were living in Kanpur Dehat. Acting swiftly, the police team conducted a raid there and apprehended 23 more Bangladeshi nationals," a senior police officer said. All those arrested were found to be working as ragpickers, farm labourers, or engaged in casual occupations, the police said. They have been shifted to the MCD Communit
The North American Punjabi Association (NAPA) has written to the Punjab government expressing concerns over alleged increase in criminal activities involving migrant population in the state. In a letter, NAPA Executive Director Satnam Singh Chahal said that reports indicate an increase in violent crimes, drug crimes, thefts and assaults in the state, leaving local residents fearing for their safety. Pointing out that Punjab has always been a welcoming state, Chahal said the absence of strict verification and legal security measures has allowed criminal elements to infiltrate communities. Urging that immediate action has to be taken to ensure safety of residents, the NAPA recommended necessary measures, including mandatory registration and background checks for all migrants, constant monitoring of migrant settlements, fast-track prosecution of criminals, and public awareness campaigns. The association also urged the adoption of laws similar to those in Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan
With reports of Bengali-speaking migrant workers allegedly being detained and harassed in several Indian states triggering outrage, the West Bengal government and the ruling TMC have launched a multi-layered initiative to tackle the crisis with a blend of administrative urgency and political outreach. In what officials and TMC leaders call a "coordinated and calibrated" approach, the government has rolled out a WhatsApp-only helpline, reactivated district-level migrant welfare cells, and empowered grassroots-level TMC task forces across migration-prone districts to serve as first responders and grievance redressal units. "The approach is two-pronged. On one hand, the government has launched helplines and activated its administrative machinery to contact officials in other states, while on the other, the party has established multi-layered coordination teams, ranging from the grassroots to the district levels. Our workers are constantly in touch with families of migrants, especially i
Leaders of 9 European Union countries say they want a reinterpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights in order to better tackle irregular migration to the continent and increase deportations. The leaders said in an open letter made public in Rome on Thursday that interpretations of the rights convention by the European Court of Human Rights have limited the flexibility of national governments and prevented them from expelling migrants who commit crimes. The letter was signed by leaders of Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. The court's interpretation of the convention in "cases concerning the expulsion of criminal foreign nationals" has protected the wrong people and placed too many limits on deciding who can be expelled, the letter said. The European Court of Human Rights handles complaints against the 46-member states of the Council of Europe, under the European Convention on Human Rights, including many cases .