Suvendu rolls out ‘detect, delete, deport’ push against infiltration
Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday unveiled a two-pronged border security push, initiating the transfer of a 27-km stretch of land to the Border Security Force (BSF) for long-pending fencing projects and operationalising a broader “detect, delete and deport” mechanism targeting infiltrators.
Addressing a press conference at Nabanna alongside senior BSF officials, Adhikari said land would be transferred within two weeks, describing it as the beginning of a larger border security infrastructure for securing the India-Bangladesh frontier.
At the same event, he also announced the implementation of a mechanism under which infiltrators detained by police would be handed over directly to the BSF, asserting that communities not covered under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) would face detention and deportation under a process coming into force with immediate effect.
Adhikari described the framework as “detect, delete and deport” of infiltrators while explaining the mechanism, signalling a sharper policy turn on border management and illegal immigration – themes long central to the BJP’s political messaging in Bengal and now among the earliest markers of governance under the new dispensation.
“As a beginning, the land required to secure the 27-km stretch is being provided to the BSF. Our citizens and officials will complete the process and extend all cooperation in the coming days,” he said.
Implementing promises made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah to seal the country’s porous borders with Bangladesh and curb illegal cross-border migration, the Adhikari cabinet, in its very first meeting on May 11, approved beginning the process of transferring land to the BSF.
Adhikari claimed that the Centre had urged the previous government to transfer land for border fencing, but the request was turned down. “The safety and security of our great nation is facing a dangerous situation. Whatever land the state government can provide, wherever fencing and security are in question, will be given to the BSF,” he said.
In a significant administrative exercise, 43 acres of purchased land across five districts and sanction orders for 31.9 acres of vested land were handed over to the BSF in the presence of Chief Secretary Manoj Agarwal.
“We will be present as key witnesses during the handover,” Adhikari said while speaking about the transfer process involving land.
Director General of BSF Praveen Kumar welcomed the initiative and stressed the need for closer coordination between the force and the state administration. “We wanted this for fencing and infrastructure for synergy with the state government. We have seen a change, and we are sure we will find this synergy with the state government,” Kumar said.
Adhikari alleged the previous government had withheld land sought by the BSF due to “appeasement politics” and vote-bank electoral calculations.
West Bengal shares a 2,217 km border with Bangladesh out of a total of 4,096.7 km Indo-Bangladesh border. Adhikari said around 1,600 km in Bengal had already been fenced while nearly 600 km remained uncovered. He alleged that land for nearly 555 km of the unfenced portion could have been transferred earlier, but was held back by the TMC government due to “political reasons”.
