'Do You Decide Nationality By Looking At Face?': Karnataka HC Tears Into State Govt For Evicting 'Bangladeshi Immigrants'

The Karnataka High court on Monday lashed out at the Bengaluru police officials for razing 100 makeshift homes near Bellandur last month after calling them, illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.

"By looking at the face of a person, can one be identified as being a Bangladeshi national?" Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka asked the police.

The court specifically asked the police to state the evidence on which a conclusion was drawn that "illegal Bangladeshi immigrants have been provided with shelter in the sheds put up on the subject land."

The bench has instructed the state government to rehabilitate those affected by the demolitions. The court has asked for a rehabilitation plan and has reserved its final order on February 10.

Several people living in shanties were evicted during a demolition drive carried out on January 12, 18 and 19. The court was hearing a plea filed by the People's Union for Civil Liberties challenging the demolitions. The petition claimed that many residents in the migrant settlement were from Assam, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Karnataka.

The petition stated that people whose makeshift houses were razed down were not Bangladeshi but were from West Bengal, Assam, Karnataka, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh. The petition said that these people were "extremely poor" and migrated from various districts of Karnataka and other states of the country.

"It appears that the bogey of Bangladeshi is being used to evict the innocent poor," the petition added.

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), had earlier confirmed that the demolitions were unauthorised. It is alleged that a police officer informed the landowner of the property and later informed the BBMP official to raze down the houses. The court also noted that no police officers paid a visit to the area to take stock of the situation.

The BBMP set no date for demolition. The stand of the state government is that they have not done it. Prima facie, it is impossible to accept that the occupants vacated on their own," the CJ said. The Bengaluru Police commissioner has claimed multiple times that there is a large number of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants dwelling in Bangalore.

Also Read: BBMP Razes 100 Huts Based On Video Claiming 'Illegal Bangladeshi' Settlement