SHILLONG: Only 5,735 Bangladeshi nationals, who had entered the State illegally since 1972, have been detected and prosecuted in the last 42 years.
Informing this in the State Assembly during Question Hour on Thursday, Chief Minister Mukul Sangma said that the State Government did not have any record about the number of Bangladeshis who had entered the State on or before March 24, 1971.
He also said that at the moment the National Register of Indian Citizens was not available which otherwise would have helped in ascertaining the total number of Bangladeshis residing in the State.
“There is a move to have this national register of Indian citizens which would help in identifying the total number of Bangladeshis who have migrated to India especially to Meghalaya,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister said that the Meghalaya Government is contemplating to challenge the ruling of the High Court of Meghalaya which has given recognition to Bangladesh nationals who have settled in this Northeastern state on or before March 24, 1971 as Indian citizens.
Replying to a supplementary question moved by Opposition leader Donkupar Roy if the Government would involve the Dorbar Shnong in checking of illegal immigrants, Sangma assured that the Government would explore all possibilities to strengthen the mechanism to check the inflow of illegal migrants into the State.
