Karnataka Puts 59 Illegal Immigrants On Train To Kolkata For Deportation Back To Bangladesh

Karnataka Police on Friday (22 November) carted away a contingent of 59 Bangladeshi illegal migrants by train to Kolkata as part of the state's deportation exercise, an official said here.

"They (illegal migrants) have been taken by a train, they are travelling towards Howrah. They have already boarded the train along with 30 Karnataka policemen," Bengaluru East Deputy Commissioner of Police S D Sharanappa told IANS.

Including women police officers, the 30-member Karnataka police team is escorting 18 men, 23 women and 18 children for handing over to the West Bengal Police and the Border Security Force (BSF).

"We spoke to the concerned agencies of West Bengal Police and also the BSF, we are coordinating with the Karnataka Home Department and the Union Home Ministry," said Sharanappa.

According to him, there are no cases against the illegal migrants as they are victims of human trafficking.

The train carrying the illegal migrant contingent is scheduled to reach Kolkata around 3 PM on Saturday (23 November), after which they will be handed over to the West Bengal Police and BSF, he added.

Police had to move the Bangladeshis to the Puttaparthi railway station of Ananthapur district in Andhra Pradesh to board the train, as the South Western Railway zone could not provide a full coach to accommodate the police right from Bengaluru.

A standard second class sleeper compartment has 72 berths.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)