Bhubaneswar: Law enforcement agencies in Odisha have deported 42 Bangladeshi nationals who were allegedly found living illegally in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, Police Commissioner Suresh Dev Datta Singh said.
According to police, the 42 individuals were repatriated between July 2025 and March 2026. Another six people identified as Bangladeshi nationals are currently being held at the state holding centre in Athagarh and are awaiting final administrative clearances for deportation.
Singh said teams under the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Urban Police District acted after receiving inputs about the presence of illegal immigrants in the twin cities. A total of 48 people were identified. Of these, 42 have already been sent back.
Deportations were carried out in two ways. One batch was flown out on a special chartered flight directly to Bangladesh. The rest were taken to land transit points on the West Bengal border and handed over to Border Security Force officials for repatriation.
In Bhubaneswar UPD, 32 people were identified — 10 men, 17 women and 5 children including 3 girls. Of them, 26 have been deported in three phases between July 2025 and March 2026.In Cuttack UPD, 16 people were identified. Police deported 14 in July 2025, 1 in August 2025, and 1 more in July 2026.
The remaining six individuals detained in Bhubaneswar are lodged at Athagarh and the process for their repatriation is underway, Singh said.
He added that coordination with central agencies and the BSF will continue to ensure such cases are detected early and processed for deportation through authorized border channels. Officials said deportation operations across both urban police districts were carried out without incident.
