Mathura (Uttar Pradesh) [India], May 17 (ANI): In a significant operation, police in Uttar Pradesh's Mathura district detained 90 Bangladeshi nationals from Khajpur village under the jurisdiction of Police Station Nauhjheel, said officials.

According to Shlok Kumar, the senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), the inspection was part of a drive to verify the identity and legality of labourers working in the rural part of the district.

'During the checking of kilns in Khajpur village by the team of PS Nauhjheel, about 90 people were found to be citizens of Bangladesh. All of them have been taken into custody and are being questioned. There are 35 men, 27 women and 28 children,' SSP Kumar told ANI on Friday.

He added, 'They said they reached Mathura 3-4 months ago; before that, they were living in a nearby state. Detailed interrogation is being done. Other agencies have also been informed about this. They are also questioning them.'

Earlier, the Uttar Pradesh government had launched an intensified drive to track down and deport Bangladeshi and Rohingya infiltrators residing in the state.

The officials said that action had already been taken against Pakistani nationals residing illegally, and now a similar focus is being directed towards Bangladeshi and Rohingya migrants.

Authorities have observed many of these individuals live under changed identities in several state districts.

Instructions have been dispatched to District Magistrates, Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs), and Police Commissioners across all districts to expedite the identification process.

Simultaneously, operations are underway against unauthorised and illegal structures along the India-Nepal border.

According to a CMO statement, Uttar Pradesh had become the first state in the country where 100 per cent of Pakistani citizens had been sent back. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath himself oversees the return of Pakistani citizens to their country.

Notably, similar actions have been underway in several states nationwide in the past couple of days. (ANI)