Tamil Nadu Govt Acts Against Illegal Bangladeshi Migrants: Special Camp At A District Jail In Salem To House Them Till Deportation

Tamil Nadu’s government has designated Attur District Jail in Salem as a “special camp” to restrict the movement of Bangladesh nationals until authorities resolve their cases and proceed with deportation, reported The Hindu.

Following a request from the Q Branch police, the government repurposed the Attur facility after deeming the existing special camp in Tiruchi overcrowded.

The Central Prison in Puzhal currently holds around 180 Bangladesh nationals under orders issued under Section 3(2)(e) of the Foreigners Act, 1946; the state plans to transfer them to Attur until their legal matters conclude.

Officials selected the Attur jail for practicality: it sits on a 1.25-acre site, was upgraded to a district jail over 15 years ago, and houses a two-storey building with high walls. The facility can accommodate approximately 200 inmates, with each room able to contain up to 20 individuals.

In January 2025, during multiple operations by the Anti-Terrorist Squad in Tiruppur district, authorities apprehended 59 Bangladesh nationals staying illegally in the state. Police also collected intelligence on other Bangladesh immigrants who entered Tamil Nadu illegally and escalated that information to senior law enforcement officials.

This deployment comes amid a nationwide crackdown on alleged illegal Bangladeshi migrants, triggered by the April attack in Pahalgam and launched under “Operation Sindoor.” Authorities have “pushed back” more than 2,000 individuals across the Bangladesh border since early May, and many more have voluntarily returned amid the intensified enforcement.

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