Amid suspicions over the movement of alleged illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in Belagavi, city police on Friday carried out a large-scale verification drive at the Central Bus Stand and detained over 20 persons for questioning.
The operation was led by DCP Narayan Baramani after concerns were raised by members of Sri Rama Sene, who claimed that suspected illegal immigrants had arrived in the city on three buses after similar checks were reportedly conducted in Hubballi.
All those detained were taken to the Malmaruti Police Station, where police carried out detailed verification of their Aadhaar cards, voter IDs, mobile numbers, and other identity documents.
During questioning, the detained individuals clarified that they were not Bangladeshi nationals but workers from West Bengal employed in the goldsmith trade in Shahapur. They informed police that they had recently travelled to their hometown to cast their votes in the elections and had now returned to Belagavi for work.
Police officials said the documents produced by the workers appeared genuine. As an additional precaution, thumb impressions of all the individuals were collected before they were released and allowed to return to their workplaces and residences.
Officials added that further internal verification is underway to rule out the possibility of forged documents or any illegal stay.