An increasing number of illegal immigrants have been caught in the past few days trying to cross the border back into Bangladesh, BSF and police in Bengal’s border districts have said.

BSF and police officers would neither explicitly confirm nor deny that the exodus is being triggered by fear of the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

But a gleeful BJP is tom-tomming the trend as proof of the large-scale “infiltration” of Bengal by aliens, and as a justification for the SIR that looks to weed them out.

Police officers conceded that the timing of the crossover attempts did suggest a link with the SIR. However, they underlined that a similar trend had been seen throughout this year, with many illegals who had fled a tumultuous post-Hasina Bangladesh in 2024 returning home as Dhaka limped back towards normalcy.

Sources said police from the Basirhat subdivision of North 24-Parganas had over the past few days caught about 100 Bangladeshis trying to return home after years of stay in India. The police accosted them close to the border.

On Friday, the 143 Battalion of the BSF detained 56 Bangladeshis, including five children, from Bithari village in Swarupnagar as they attempted to leave India. The detainees were from the Bagerhat and Satkhira districts of Bangladesh.

The following night, the same battalion caught another 38 trying to sneak back into Bangladesh. BSF sources confirmed similar attempts in Nadia.

“Bangladeshis being caught while trying to return home is not unusual, but the surge in the number of such people is something new,” a BSF officer in North 24-Parganas said. He declined to attribute any specific reason to the trend.

According to home ministry data, the number of undocumented immigrants, suspected to be from Bangladesh, caught by the BSF while trying to voluntarily leave India through the eastern border was 1,049 last year. This year, by July 15, the number had almost tripled to 3,536, a seniorofficial said.

With the Bihar SIR kicking off in late June and triggering a political slugfest in Bengal, many here had by mid-July begun anticipating a similar exercise in Bengal. Adding to the sense of insecurity, a police officer suggested, could be the crackdown on Bengali-speaking immigrants in various BJP-ruled states.

Officials clarified that these “voluntary exits” were distinct from the “pushback” operations currently underway against alleged Bengali-speaking illegals.

“With the SIR being launched, undocumented migrants leaving the country voluntarily is welcome,” a senior police officer in Nadia said.

“If they are not involved in any serious crime, we let them go, since keeping them here requires long legal formalities.”

Jagannath Sarkar, BJP leader and Ranaghat MP, linked the development directly to the SIR.

“It’s clear who’s returning home. Since the primary goal of the SIR is to create a cleaner, error-free electoral roll by removing illegal immigrants, duplicate entries and dead voters, those who fear losing their place in India are now leaving voluntarily,” he said.

“The Centre has categorically stated that members of religiously persecuted communities who entered India till December 31, 2024, would not be harassed by the police. So, it’s quite clear who have been trying to return home.”

Trinamool Rajya Sabha member Mamatabala Thakur disagreed, claiming the SIR was being used to disenfranchise genuine citizens.

“The SIR is a threat not just to Bangladeshi Muslims but also to genuine Indian citizens, particularly Bengali-speaking Muslims, who are perceived as non-NDA voters,”she said.

BJP leader Tathagata Roy commented on the trend in a post on X.

“As reported in ABP, Suman Haoladar*, apparently a Hindu, was arrested when he was trying to escape to Bangladesh. Why? Because, he was under the impression that he will be arrested as a result of SIR,” he wrote.

“Although he had entered India some 10 years back, and the Government of India has notified that any Hindu (sic) who had entered India before 31 December 2024 will not be considered an illegal entrant.

“The Union Home Ministry ought to give very wide publicity to this notification through TV, radio and newspapers. The West Bengal BJP also ought to do its bit.”

Roy added: “*Many Bangladeshi Muslims have a Hindu (sic) name or Sanskrit word as part of their name, e.g. Mohammed Qausar Kokil. That’s why I said ‘apparently’. @AmitShah @AmitShahOffice.”

Many Bangladeshi Muslims have what they describe as “Bengali” names as distinct from “Arabic” ones.