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Karnataka crackdown on illegal immigration

Updated 3 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-08-17 06:26 UTC → 2026-08-24 08:43 UTC · added removed

In early July, Karnataka MLA Bharat Shetty urged a crackdown on illegal Bangladeshi nationals in the Mukka area. Home Minister Priyank Kharge subsequently announced that authorities identified approximately 1,000 illegal immigrants over a three-month period, primarily from Bangladesh and Africa. Kharge requested central government assistance to understand how migrants enter the state, as Karnataka lacks an international border, and cautioned against “social media activism,” urging citizens to report information directly to police. To enforce these measures, Bengaluru Police launched ‘Operation Mukt.’ In the Electronic City division, 23 teams comprising 295 personnel raided 29 locations, verifying 1,909 individuals. This identified 15 Bangladeshi nationals in Begur and Parappana Agrahara, while a Whitefield division search identified four more. Authorities are investigating whether local networks or landlords facilitate illegal stays via fraudulent documents. Records show 47 Bangladeshi nationals were deported from Electronic City over the past year. The crackdown has faced legal scrutiny following and civil rights scrutiny. Following the arrest of a Bengaluru doctor, Dr. Nagendra. After Nagendra, who faced retaliatory FIRs after reporting two suspected illegal immigrants, the doctor faced counter-complaints of assault and criminal intimidation, leading to FIRs by Bellandur and Varthur police. Dr. Nagendra approached the Karnataka High Court to quash the FIRs, claiming they are retaliatory. During a July 28 hearing, Justice M. Nagaprasanna questioned why police acted on the counter-complaints without first verifying conduct regarding the status validity of counter-allegations. By late August, civil rights and labor organizations released a report titled “Profiling as Policy: How Bangalore Police’s ‘Verification’ Drive Violated the complainants or Constitution and the validity Law.” The report accuses the Bengaluru Police of conducting discriminatory drives that disproportionately target Bengali-speaking migrant workers through linguistic and class profiling. Allegations include arbitrary detention of workers with valid identification, invasive mobile phone searches, and instances where residents were reportedly asked to sing the allegations. national anthem to prove citizenship.

Versions

  1. 2026-08-24 08:43 UTC Karnataka crackdown on illegal immigration
  2. 2026-08-17 06:26 UTC Karnataka crackdown on illegal immigration
  3. 2026-08-08 16:12 UTC Karnataka crackdown on illegal immigration
  4. 2026-08-08 12:43 UTC Karnataka illegal immigration crackdown

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