On Tuesday, a crowd of around 300 men, women, and children assembled on a field beside the BSF checkpost at Hakimpur, which lies about 90 km from Kolkata and right next to the Bangladesh border.
The group, carrying belongings in small bags, had been coming since Sunday after hearing that crossing into Bangladesh was possible from the outpost. Police officials sat nearby recording names and the Bangladesh addresses supplied by the people, many of whom did not have valid Indian documents but did carry papers showing Bangladeshi residence.
A report from the notorious Hakimpur border in North 24 Parganas, from where Bangladeshi infiltrators sneak into India with impunity:
— Surajit Dasgupta (@surajitdasgupta) May 27, 2026
They cross the Sonai river (more of a strait), get their fake Indian documents made and mingle with the local community. The BSF check post is at… pic.twitter.com/JBKmnTWCrz
A crowd gathers at the Hakimpur check-post
The Indian Express' article says the rush began after the special intensive revision drive and amid West Bengal’s crackdown on illegal immigrants.
Khukumoni Bibi, who said she was from the Satkhira district in Bangladesh and had lived in New Town near Kolkata for five years, told the paper that “fear” of police, detention centers, and demolitions had driven her family to leave.
She said her husband worked as a garbage collector, she was a domestic help, and their four children had been studying in local schools before their landlord told them to move out and they heard camps were being set up.
Families say fear pushed them to the border
Others described similar pressure.
Muhamed Sadek said he had lived in a slum in Ultadanga for 15 years with his wife and three daughters, working as a garbage collector, before police and others demolished their shanties three days earlier.
Aleya Bibi and Abdul Hassan, who said they had lived in New Town for 15 years, said they had no voter card or Aadhaar and feared being sent to detention centers. Aleya said they had “no option.”
A group of four men also told the paper they had worked in Kerala after crossing from Bangladesh months earlier but were now returning because landlords wanted Aadhaar cards and they faced fresh questions during the election period.
Ground zero visuals from Hakimpur Checkpost near Basirhat, where hundreds of aillegal Bangladeshi immigrants have gathered to return to Bangladesh following the West Bengal government’s “Detect, Delete and Deport” drive against illegal foreigners. pic.twitter.com/qn5JzHs1ep
— Piyali Mitra (@Plchakraborty) May 26, 2026
The crossing stays under tight watch
The border crossing has been under close watch, with BSF jawans barricading the road and checking vehicles, e-rickshaws, cars, and motorbikes.
According to BSF officials quoted in the report, biometric checks are being carried out, and people are allowed to leave after documentation if they show papers proving residence in Bangladesh.
A senior BSF officer said the force was permitting exits after “proper documentation,” while keeping watch for any crime or terror link.
Barun Das, who runs a tea shop near the check-post, said he had seen Bangladeshis returning from the area during the SIR and that people had again started arriving with luggage since Sunday.
