The Ahmedabad Crime Branch has detained 61 people suspected of being illegal immigrants, the majority of them reportedly from Bangladesh, in a city-wide operation ahead of Diwali, police said in a statement on Monday, November 2.
Source: Mirror Now
According to police, the detentions followed a period of intensive intelligence gathering and coordinated raids across multiple zones of Ahmedabad. Police said the 61 were identified as foreign nationals allegedly residing in the country without valid documentation, and described the drive as a public-safety measure to strengthen security ahead of the Diwali festival.
Legal proceedings to facilitate deportation are currently in progress, police said. The Hindu's report of the same police announcement likewise notes that verification and legal action will continue — detention at this stage is not a completed deportation, and the individual status of each detained person is still being established case by case.
Source: The Hindu, 2 Nov 2026 (via Chetan Bharat analysis)
Not the city's first such drive
Ahmedabad has seen several similar enforcement actions over the past year. In October 2025, police apprehended 17 Bangladeshi women who were reportedly residing in rented properties across the Sola area, and earlier in 2025, after the Pahalgam terror attack in April, an operation in the Chandola Lake area led to the detention of more than 200 people, according to Mirror Now's account of earlier drives.
What happens next: police say verification of documents and nationality will continue for the 61 detained, alongside the legal process for deportation where the law provides for it. No completed deportations from this drive have been reported so far.