Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi.
| Photo Credit: File photo
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi informed the Odisha Legislative Assembly on Monday that the State had deported 73 Bangladeshi nationals over the past year, during which the documents of 2,261 persons suspected of their nationality were examined.
Responding to a query on the identification of Bangladeshi nationals, Mr. Majhi said that, as per directions issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs in May 2025, Superintendents of Police in all districts of Odisha had been instructed to expedite the identification of Bangladeshi infiltrators. “All Superintendents of Police in the State are acting in accordance with these instructions,” he said.
“Through this identification process, identity documents of 2,261 suspected persons have been verified so far. Of them, 2,184 were found to be Indian citizens and were subsequently released,” Odisha CM informed.
“The remaining 77 persons have been identified as Bangladeshi infiltrators. Of them, 26 were traced in Bhubaneswar, 15 in Cuttack, six in Berhampur, 21 in Jagatsinghpur, and four in Kandhamal,” Mr. Majhi said, adding, “Out of these 77 identified Bangladeshi nationals, 73 have been deported.”
The Chief Minister further informed that two Bangladeshi infiltrators had fraudulently obtained Indian passports using forged documents.
Cases were registered against them, and they were sent to jail after being produced in court. Deportation proceedings are under way against two others.
The verification of documents of suspected Bangladeshi nationals has been a contentious issue. The government led by Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal has objected to such verification drives, alleging harassment of bona fide residents of the State. Last year, as many as 444 persons suspected of being Bangladeshi nationals were detained in Jharsuguda district, most of them construction workers from West Bengal.
Published – February 24, 2026 01:22 am IST
