'Targeted Because They Can't Challenge Police Atrocities': AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi Calls Detention Of Bengali-Speaking Muslims 'Illegal'

New Delhi: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday condemned the detention of Bengali-speaking Muslim citizens across the country, labelling them as "illegal" while accusing the police administration of "targeting" them since they couldn't challenge "police atrocities".

He said that those being labelled as illegal immigrants are "the poorest of the poor", who are mostly slum-dwellers, and work as domestic workers and rag-pickers. Owaisi argued that they were being targeted repeatedly because they couldn't challenge "police atrocities."

He stated that there have been reports of Indian citizens being pushed into Bangladesh at gunpoint.

"Police in different parts of India have been illegally detaining Bengali-speaking Muslim citizens and accusing them of being Bangladeshi. There have been disturbing reports of Indian citizens being pushed into Bangladesh at gunpoint. This government acts strong with the weak, and weak with the strong. Most of those who are accused of being 'illegal immigrants' are the poorest of the poor: slum-dwellers, cleaners, domestic workers, rag-pickers, etc. They have been targeted repeatedly because they are not in a position to challenge police atrocities," the AIMIM chief posted on X.

"Police do not have the power to detain people just because they speak a particular language. These wide-net detentions are illegal," Owaisi added as he shared an image of an order of the Office of District Magistrate in Gurugram on his X account where it has been mentioned that the state government have made a standard operating procedure (SOP) to deport Bangladeshi citizens and Rohingyas.

Over a week ago, the Pune City Police arrested five Bangladeshi women from the Budhwar Peth red-light area in Pune.

Acting on a specific tip-off, senior officers from the Faraskhana Police Station and the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) launched a targeted operation in the red light area on Friday. The arrested women were found to be residing illegally in India without valid documentation.

Preliminary investigation revealed that they arrived in india illegally from Bangladesh and pretended to be the residents of West Bengal, came to Pune and indulged in prostitution. The women, aged between 20 and 28, had been using false identity documents to stay in India.

The operation also revealed the involvement of several traffickers who arranged their illegal entry and stay in India. Police have registered cases under relevant sections of the Immigration Act, Passport Act, and Human Trafficking laws.

Earlier, Assam Minister Atul Bora supported the state's eviction drive against illegal encroachments in tribal areas. He said the move, led by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, is important to protect tribal land, and praised the CM's visits to districts to monitor the action.

Speaking to ANI, Minister Bora said, "We are wholeheartedly supporting this move of the CM. It is there even in my own district, the CM is visiting there today. It is important to do this, wherever the issue persists, because whoever has encroached on the tribal belt and block? Doubtful people. So, this is very important."

On Tuesday, the Assam BJP stated that the ongoing eviction drives will continue until every inch of illegally encroached land in the state is cleared.

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