The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is conducting raids at 17 locations in West Bengal and Jharkhand. The case is related to the alleged illegal infiltration of Bangladeshis in Jharkhand. However, the ED raids are being conducted in connection with money laundering.
Earlier on Monday, the NIA also conducted raids in nine states of the country and took action against alleged networks of Bangladeshis and al-Qaeda.
The alleged Bangladeshi influx has been the chief poll plank for the BJP ahead of the Jharkhand elections. The ED in September had carried out raids to unearth the network of alleged trafficking of Bangladeshi women and a related money laundering racket.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders have recently claimed that the state government’s leniency toward illegal entry has caused demographic shifts in tribal-dominated areas such as Santhal Pargana and Kolhan. This topic has featured prominently in recent election campaigns.
The first round of the Assembly elections, covering 43 constituencies, is scheduled for Wednesday, with the second phase, which includes 38 seats, set for November 20. The ED's enforcement case information report (ECIR), filed under the PMLA, follows a June police report from the Bariyatu police station in Ranchi, Jharkhand's capital.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has accused the incumbent Hemant Soren government in Jharkhand of promoting illegal migration into the state to strengthen its voter base. Last month, BJP Jharkhand election co-incharge and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said northeastern states had taken measures to curb the illegal infiltration of Bangladeshis. He also urged the Mamata Banerjee-led Bengal government to take action and do the same at its end. Himanta also said that the post-Sheikh Hasina Bangladesh saw an increase of Muslims fleeing into India.