Authorities have repatriated 42 Bangladeshi nationals who reportedly entered Odisha’s twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack illegally, according to a senior police official on Wednesday.
The 42 people were deported from India between July 2025 and March 2026.
An additional six Bangladeshi infiltrators were detected in Bhubaneswar, and processes are currently underway to send them back to Bangladesh, stated Police Commissioner of Bhubaneswar-Cuttack, Suresh Dev Datta Singh.
Singh noted that law enforcement authorities across the Bhubaneswar and Cuttack Urban Police Districts (UPD) identified 48 Bangladeshi nationals and have returned 42 to their home country.
The remaining six people are currently being held at the state holding centre in Athagarh while awaiting final administrative clearances for their repatriation, Singh explained.
Upon receiving intelligence regarding the presence of Bangladeshi infiltrators within the twin cities, the police commissionerate tracked down and apprehended them.
“With coordination with BSF, the Bangladeshi infiltrators will be deported to their home country through the border adjoining West Bengal,” he said.
Singh detailed that one group of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants was returned directly via a dedicated chartered flight, whereas others were sent back through land transit checkpoints.
According to official data shared during the briefing, the Bhubaneswar Urban Police District (UPD) identified 32 Bangladeshi nationals, consisting of 10 men, 17 women, and five children, three of whom are girls. Among them, 26 people were deported in three separate phases between July 2025 and March 2026.
Similarly, the Cuttack UPD deported 16 Bangladeshi nationals across three separate operations, sending 14 back in July 2025, one in August 2025, and another in July this year.
Police officials said that ground repatriation across both urban districts proceeded smoothly, with individuals transferred at designated West Bengal land border posts in addition to aerial transport via specialized flight arrangements.
