New Delhi, June 15 (IANS) With India embarking on a mission to deport all illegally entered Bangladeshi nationals from the country, these sections are currently on the radar of ISI-backed elements for subversive activities.

Post the impressive victory by the BJP in West Bengal, there has been a major impetus on repatriating Bangladeshis who have entered the country over the last several years.

While the main focus currently is in West Bengal and Assam, the drive would, over a period of time, cover the entire nation. Bangladeshis who have illegally entered the country are not just restricted to Assam and West Bengal. They are in large numbers in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Bihar, and Maharashtra, with many having blended in with the Bengali-speaking community who have left their state in the last many years in search of job opportunities.

Today, they are employed as construction workers and plantation labour.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that the ISI-backed elements have now been told to scout for these illegal Bangladeshi nationals within India and recruit them, telling them that if they do not want to be deported, they would have to join them and carry out anti-national activities.

The official said that these persons are being recruited to commit murders, carry out counterfeiting, and also join terror outfits. The drive that has been taken up to repatriate illegal Bangladeshis in India is now being used as a recruitment tool by these ISI-backed elements, officials say.

The Lashkar-e-Taiba has been tasked with the recruitment process. Another official said that the process had been put in motion some months back. However, a big push is now being made as the ISI feels that the illegal Bangladeshi nationals are very vulnerable currently and hence can be recruited easily.

The official added that the recruitments are not ideology-based when it comes to Bangladeshi illegal immigrants. The ISI is willing to spend a large amount of money to go through with the recruitment process. During the recruitment process, these illegal immigrants are being told that their livelihoods are at stake, as there is huge ongoing repatriation process. The recruiters are luring these individuals with money to be part of their module.

Officials say detecting such individuals is hard, as they have come in illegally in the first place. They have fake identification documents on them, and hence tracking them at the local police station levels is hard. This works well for the ISI-backed recruiters. Once they are roped in and the crime is committed, then tracking such persons is a challenge, and this works well for the Pakistan spy agency.

An official added that the prime focus on the recruitments would be in Southern India. There are a large number of illegal Bangladeshi nationals living in the South Indian states. Officials warn that those who employ such persons must undertake due diligence and even inform their local police stations about such individuals who come in illegally and pose as persons from West Bengal or Assam. They tend to blend in easily due to similarities in language, and this is what keeps them off the radar of the police personnel of the respective states. With the ISI upping the ante and going all out to recruit such persons, much care must be taken at the local police station level. Intelligence Bureau officials warn that it is not the time to be complacent as the ISI is planning a huge operation across the nation using such illegal Bangladeshi migrants.

–IANS

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