New Delhi [India], May 29 (ANI): Around 160 Bangladeshi nationals are being deported from the capital city of Delhi to Bangladesh through the Hindon airbase on Thursday, said sources.

The sources added that the Bangladeshi nationals will first be flown to Tripura on a special aircraft, from where they will be deported by road to the Bangladesh border for repatriation.

In recent months, after the Pahalgam terror attack, Delhi Police has identified nearly 470 Bangladeshi nationals living illegally in the city and has deported them through the same channel -- via Tripura and then across the Bangladesh border by road.

Among these 160 deportees, most of them had infiltrated into India, while many of them did not go back to Bangladesh even after their visas expired.

Earlier today, the Crime Branch of Delhi Police detained four illegal Bangladeshi nationals from the Narela area of Delhi after a team from the Inter-State Cell (ISC), Crime Branch, Chanakyapuri carried out an operation.

'The team had been conducting surveillance and intelligence-gathering for over a month to identify undocumented migrants residing in vulnerable areas,' said an official statement from Delhi police.

Deputy Commissioner of Police, Crime Branch, Harsh Indora stated that the detained individuals were identified as Hafijul (19), Mominul (21), Shamim (22), and Inamul (38), who are allegedly from the Rangpur district in Bangladesh.

The police launched this operation based on multiple intelligence inputs and reports indicating the presence of undocumented foreign nationals in the city. These individuals were believed to have entered the country illegally, bypassing immigration checks, and had been living without any valid documents.

'Officers conducted ground-level verifications at makeshift settlements, roadside dwellings, and known labour congregation points in Narela. Individuals were questioned and subjected to identity verification, during which the four were found lacking any legal documentation and admitted to their illegal entry and continued stay in India,' the statement read.

None of the detainees were able to produce any valid identity proof of either Indian or Bangladeshi origin, DCP Indora added.

According to the police's preliminary investigation, all four individuals had entered India during childhood with their parents, who subsequently returned to Bangladesh. Since then, they have been residing illegally in India, moving across several cities, including Bahadurgarh, Sonipat, Khurja, Mahendragarh, Ghaziabad, Behror, and finally Delhi, to avoid detection.

'They had been living secretly on roadsides and informal settlements for years and stated that they had no relatives or legal ties in India. Their families, including parents, siblings, and grandparents, continue to reside in Bangladesh,' the statement read.

Police said that the four individuals are currently in a detention centre and are being processed in accordance with the law. (ANI)