National: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) launched an operation in poll-bound Jharkhand and West Bengal on Tuesday in a money laundering case involving the suspected illegal entry of people from Bangladesh. The operations, which covered seven locations in each of the states, are part of an ongoing investigation regarding the alleged changing of population ratios in the tribal belts of Jharkhand, predominantly in the Santhal Pargana and Kolhan regions. These regions have come to the centre of a political controversy regarding suspected illegal immigration.

The raids are being coordinated by the enforcement branch of Jharkhand and in this context, political tensions have increased.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders charged the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha government with allowing illegal Bangladeshi immigrants into the state, which they said have encroached on the lands of the indigenous tribes. Leading up to the elections, BJP leaders have claimed that infiltration of this kind threatens the very culture and demography of the region.

The action of ED comes after the filing of an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) under various provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) initiated by an FIR filed by the Jharkhand police at the Bariyatu police station in Ranchi in June. This pertains to a money laundering investigation concerning matters of unlawful infiltration of Bangladeshi nationals into the territory of Jharkhand and its neighbouring regions.

Earlier this month, six Bangladeshi citizens, whose composition includes three transgenders, were taken into custody at a rail terminus in West Tripura, as they allegedly prepared for a journey to Mumbai. The associates of these arrested persons and various other developments within some investigative agencies have underscored the problem of smuggling out people from Bangladesh.

Earlier this month, the political undertones of this matter were visible when Defence Minister Rajnath Singh addressed a public rally in Ranchi on November 5. He assured that if the BJP came to power in Jharkhand, they would take tough measures against illegal immigration of Bangladeshis and protect the land of the tribals. This remark from Singh was meant to underline the BJP's stand on the issue of the rights of the local people and the concern to reverse the demographic trends in the state.

Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, also addressed the subject on November 10 and claimed that Bangladeshi infiltrators were jeopardising not just the land and security of local communities but also the culture of India itself.

Addressing a rally at Deoghar in Jharkhand, Chouhan said, “These Bangladeshi infiltrators not only endanger our land and women but also the very Sanatan Sanskriti. They want to annihilate our civilization.”

With the continuing raids and mounting political rhetoric, the presence of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in Jharkhand is an important issue that has been raised in connection with the Jharkhand polls. In addition, the ongoing investigation by the Enforcement Directorate and the emerging political developments concerning the issue are expected to keep this matter alive in the public arena shortly.