As Bangladeshi nationals, who had been illegally staying here, continue to assemble in small numbers at the Hakimpur channel in North 24-Parganas to return to their homeland, the Bengal government has set up at least three temporary holding centres to accommodate those whose documents will be verified before they are handed over to the BSF for deportation.

Police sources said the administration was carrying out extensive physical and document verification to ensure that only genuine Bangladeshi nationals willing to return to their country were allowed to cross the border. Those unable to immediately establish their Bangladeshi roots are being detained at the holding centres until further instructions arrive from higher authorities.

Two days ago, sources in police said 70 Bangladeshis had been sent back to the neighbouring country. However, on Friday, a senior police officer of the district, who refused to be named, said that no Bangladeshi national had been formally deported or handed over to the BSF so far.

“We have so far detained around 300 Bangladeshi nationals, who are willing to return to their homeland in Bangladesh. The verification of their documents is still underway, and it will take time,” the police officer said and added that they had been housed in three separate holding centres at Swarupnagar.

The claim of the senior police officer is in conflict with what the Union home minister Amit Shah said in Gujarat on Thursday.

Referring to news reports, Shah, while addressing a gathering in Gandhinagar, said that hundreds of infiltrators were leaving Bengal and heading to Bangladesh after the new BJP government came to power in the state.

Shah also echoed chief minister Suvendu Adhikari when he said that “since the infiltrators are returning on their own”, the government would not take any legal action against them.

At the temporary holding centres in Swarupnagar, the district administration has arranged free food and lodging facilities, besides ensuring medical support for the detainees, including women and children.

The atmosphere at Hakimpur remained tense on Friday as anxious Bangladeshi nationals continued to gather in the hope of returning home after the BJP-led Bengal government announced its “zero tolerance” policy against infiltration and initiated steps to implement its proposed “3D policy” — Detect, Delete and Deport — targeting illegal migrants and Rohingya ahead of a broader crackdown.

The police and administrative officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said infiltrators unable to furnish proof of Bangladeshi roots would continue to remain in the holding centres until the government takes a final decision regarding their future.

Several Bangladeshi nationals claimed on Friday that fear of the government crackdown was not the sole reason behind their decision to leave India. Many alleged that landlords and residents had become increasingly unwilling to shelter them following the state government’s anti-infiltration drive.

“I was staying in a rented accommodation with my husband in Birati. But the house owner told us to vacate the room, or he might face legal problems. We tried to find another place to stay, but everyone asked for Aadhaar and voter cards, which we could not produce. Eventually, they realised we were Bangladeshis and refused to rent rooms to us. The same thing happened to many of us, which compelled us to leave,” said a young Bangladeshi woman who worked as a domestic help.

Officials said that, unlike during the earlier SIR exercise, when Bangladeshi nationals were allegedly pushed back directly by the BSF after crossing the border, the present process involves detailed scrutiny by the police and district administration before any deportation takes place.

With verification taking time and many being shifted to temporary detention centres, panic has spread among Bangladeshi nationals staying illegally in different parts of Bengal.

According to officials, the state government has decided to permit safe passage for willing Bangladeshi nationals through a coordinated mechanism involving the BSF and the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB). However, emphasis has been laid on verifying the authenticity of every individual seeking to return. Those undergoing verification are being detained at the holding centres until the process is completed and they are eventually handed over to BSF authorities, a police officer said.

As the number of detainees increased sharply over the past few days, the district administration, which had initially started operations with a single holding centre by converting a “Pather Sathi” motel at Tentulia, was compelled to open two more facilities.

“Since the accommodation space at the Pather Sathi motel became insufficient, and the facility was originally meant for tourists and long-distance truck drivers for rest, we were compelled to set up two more holding centres,” a North 24-Parganas district administration official said.

Officials said the second holding centre was set up at a flood shelter adjacent to Charghat High School, while the third was opened at a school in Media village to accommodate the rising number of detainees.

Police personnel have been deployed at all three centres, while rural health workers are regularly monitoring the health and well-being of those detained. Local medical officer Sourav Acharya is also making periodic visits to assess the situation.

At all the holding centres Charghat High School holding centre, cooking responsibilities have been assigned to mid-day meal workers attached to local self-help groups. The workers are visiting the school to prepare meals, while dry food items for breakfast are being supplied from the Swarupnagar BDO office.

Local panchayat representatives have also joined the administration in maintaining cleanliness and overseeing the overall management of the centres. Rajesh Mondal, a BJP member of the Charghat gram panchayat, said he was informed by the BDO on Tuesday night about the need to urgently prepare the flood shelter for accommodation.

“Since the district administration told us to arrange the set-up, we immediately started cleaning the flood centre and preparing it for lodging. We worked throughout the night to ensure all necessary arrangements for the Bangladeshis,” he said.