With the needle of suspicion pointing towards terrorist group Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami in the May 13 serial blasts in Jaipur, the Rajasthan government has launched a manhunt to identify Bangladeshis "having criminal background" in the state within the next 30 days.
"Forty such Bangladeshi nationals living illegally in the state have been detained for interrogation," state PWD Minister Rajendra Singh Rathore told reporters.
"All district collectors and superintendents of police have been directed to start identification work of Bangladeshi migrants living with or without voter identity cards or ration cards and get their whereabouts verified from their homes," Rathore said.
The process has already begun, he said, adding district authorities have been empowered to cancel their ration cards or voter ID proof if they found any irregularity and criminal involvement in their declarations.
A survey in 2004 showed there were 2,500 Bangladeshis in Jaipur alone. The figure has now risen to over 10,000, Rathore said.
Senior state officials have held talks with their Central counterparts counterpart on the issue of deportation of Bangladeshi nationals illegally staying in the state, if required, he said.
