EXCLUSIVE: NRC-like drive in Bengal to curb 'Bangladeshi passport' menace

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been at the forefront of political opposition to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and National Population Register, declaring she won't accept these Central initiatives in her state. However, a 'silent' exercise similar to the NRC is in progress in West Bengal.

The police department in West Bengal has swung into action after getting a Central government report that large number of Bangladeshis has entered West Bengal and passports had been issued to them, using which they have gone out of India.

These 'Bangladeshis' have been working abroad as Indian citizens based on their documents like Aadhaar, voter ID card and passports, all of which authenticate citizenship. The Central government wants all such passports to be scrapped.

The West Bengal police has asked all its branches across the state to verify the passport holders when they would come to them for renewing their passports.

A slew of measures are being undertaken based on the guidelines of the Union home ministry. As a result, it is virtually an NRC-like exercise being done by the police to verify the passport renewal cases.

According to guidelines set by the Union home ministry three months back, a dozen police commissionerates in West Bengal, along with all district police units, are not only verifying the documents of the passport holders, but also roots of their parents.

The guidelines say, “Apart from the birth proofs of the passport holders, the person would have to submit documents like land deed, information related to jobs of parents before he or she was born, identity proofs of parents, school-leaving certificates (in case they are not highly educated) of parents, pension certificates of parents etc.."

If one does not possess any birth certificates or birth proof, then a first class magistrate would have to authenticate the applicant as being born in India.

All such documents are similar to those that were required for Assam residents to prove their citizenship during the NRC exercise in the state.

As a result of this exercise by the West Bengal police, around 3,000 passport holders have been unable to renew their passports as the police held back the verification.

A senior police officer of special branch said, "For fresh cases, it's easy for us to issue passports. But we have been asked specially by the Central guidelines to verify and scrutinise the old cases as, according to them, around 60 percent of old passports in Bengal are believed to be of Bangladeshis.”

This stringent verification exercise, however, has, in effect, become applicable for every community and is resulting in harassment.

Sunil Singh, a native of Jharkhand, who is now settled in North Kolkata, has been asked by a police commissionerate to bring land documents from his own state. "I don't know what to do. They want land documents along with my parents' job or any other certificates. My parents passed away long back. I don't know what to do," said Singh.

According to intelligence officers in Kolkata, Bangladeshis chose India as their destination because they get easy job recruitment proposals of Middle East countries from various states of South India, especially Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. "The recruitment agencies from these states have direct links to companies of Middle East nations. So they [Bangladeshis] come in large number. This is what was reported by the central Intelligence Bureau," said an officer.

Out of these cases, which have been held back, many of the applicants had already been issued passports based on tatkal service of passport authority.

Many officers alleged that the ministry of external affairs has taken its hands off in these cases.

"They charge extra for tatkal service and take the money. But people would not get visa unless we clear the verification," said the officer.