At least 48 Bangladeshi infiltrators were arrested for trying to illegally cross over to the neighbouring country through the Basirhat border pockets in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district, a senior police officer said Sunday.

They were leaving India following the announcement of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in West Bengal, according to a BSF officer.

While 33 Bangladeshis were apprehended by BSF on Sunday and handed over to Swaroop Nagar police station, 15 others were nabbed on Saturday night, the officer said.

The arrested individuals used to work as maids and labourers in parts of West Bengal and other states and were trying to reach their country "fearing detention or deportation in the wake of the SIR announcement," a BSF officer said.

During the exercise, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) conduct house-to-house visits to verify details of voters.

In the last three days, 89 Bangladeshis illegally staying in India were apprehended by BSF along the same border stretch and handed over to the police.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.