According to local reports, between 100 and 200 people assembled at the Hakimpur border checkpoint since Monday. The checkpost, situated approximately 35 kilometres from Basirhat, lies in a porous border region where geographical conditions have long facilitated irregular movement across the international boundary.
An official, speaking to NDTV, stated that during the Special Intensive Revision exercise, a significant number of undocumented residents were observed returning to Bangladesh daily through border areas in North 24 Parganas. The official further noted that for nearly two months after the announcement of the Special Intensive Revision in October, individuals identified as Bangladeshi immigrants residing in Newtown, Dum Dum, and Dankuni reportedly returned to their country of origin via the Hakimpur route. This movement, according to the official, slowed down during the election period.
Hakimpur Checkpost has been identified as a frequently used crossing point due to its terrain and accessibility, with Border Security Force personnel stationed to regulate movement. The area has also been associated with long-standing patterns of cross-border migration, including individuals who reportedly entered India through the same route as early as 2015 and later engaged in informal occupations such as ragpicking and domestic work in the outskirts of Kolkata.
Local residents in North 24 Parganas have also reported an emerging shortage of daily wage labourers in brick kilns across Basirhat and Sandeshkhali following the electoral roll revision exercise.
Amid the developments, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari issued a strong statement, saying that Bangladesh should accept these individuals. He further stated, “We do not want to send them to jail and the police have been informed of the same. They will consume our national funds, take clothes and medicines. They are not our sons-in-law.”
Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament Khagen Murmu, representing Malda district, stated that illegal immigrants would be placed in holding centres, while the central government would determine further action. He added that party and government functions separately, and asserted that unlike the Trinamool Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party would not obstruct administrative work. He further stated that the central government’s priority is national safety and security, citing ongoing border fencing efforts in Bengal that, according to him, had been stalled for 15 years.
The situation at Hakimpur continues to draw attention as border management measures, migration patterns, and administrative responses converge in a politically sensitive and operationally complex region.
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