The search and verification operation was carried out by the police in DLF areas where jhuggi clusters have sprung up.

However, the police played down the operation, describing it as routine duty. The DSP, Industries, Mr Summit Kumar, who is in-charge of DLF Police Station, said that such operations are carried out periodically.

The police had identified about 174 suspects and sought their documents to prove that they were residents of the country. Almost all of them were Bengali-speaking.

The police move is rooted in the context of big number of Bangladeshi infiltrators being nabbed from various parts of the city in batches in the past five years. A good number of Bangladeshis have sneaked in and got mixed with the migrant construction labourers here.

The general perception is that a large number of rickshaw pullers operating here are from Bangladesh. Also, a majority of the maidservants employed in various colonies are part of them.

When asked about their native place, their first response is that they are from Bihar. However, when grilled, they say that they are natives of West Bengal.

Although it is for the police to go deep into the issue, the general view is that these foreigners manage documents which suggest that they are of this country. As the local police find it hard to go deep into the matter, the foreigners are off the hook.

The rise of crimes like chain snatching and burglary, etc in the city is attributed to the presence of these infiltrators. On at least two occasions in the past, the police had nabbed a gang of Bangladeshis who indulged in violence, burglary and thefts, especially in DLF and other new areas of the city.

(BY- Tribune)