Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi. File Photo: Handout via PTI
Gujarat Police have detained 501 Bangladeshi nationals from various parts of the State over the last two days as part of ‘Operation Delta Hunt’, a Statewide drive against illegal immigration, Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi on Thursday (June 4, 2026).The operation, which began late on Tuesday (June 2, 2026) night, was carried out across Gujarat following extensive planning and intelligence gathering.Mr. Sanghavi said 501 people had so far been verified and detained for allegedly staying in the country illegally. The authorities were simultaneously scrutinising the credentials and backgrounds of over 6,200 other individuals as part of the ongoing exercise.“The message from Gujarat Police is clear — the only response to illegal infiltration is strict action,” the Home Minister said. Earlier, Mr. Sanghavi said the crackdown had been meticulously planned and executed simultaneously across different districts of the State. Police teams had employed a combination of technical surveillance and human intelligence networks to identify suspected illegal migrants.A majority of those detained were engaged in manual labour, with the highest concentrations found in Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, Vadodara, and Bharuch, according to the Minister.Dedicated police teams were investigating individuals who allegedly provided accommodation to the migrants or employed them without carrying out mandatory police verification procedures, he said.The operation remains underway, with the authorities continuing verification and enforcement measures across the State.Mr. Sanghavi also expressed confidence that the land allocated by the new government in West Bengal for fencing work by the Border Security Force along the India-Bangladesh border in the State would further strengthen border security and help prevent illegal infiltration in the future. Published - June 04, 2026 10:51 pm IST
