Once a tight-knit community of over 500 Bengali-speaking migrant workers, the Bengali Market in Gurugram’s Sector 49 is witnessing a mass departure. 

Nearly 400 have fled in cars, some crammed into autos, while others simply walked – bags slung over shoulders, children in tow. A few waited for daybreak, their belongings packed and ready. Others kept their bags by the door, prepared to run at the first sign of another police action.

The trigger? 

An ongoing crackdown on “illegal immigrants” in Gurgaon, which has unleashed panic among largely Muslim migrant families from West Bengal, many of whom have lived and worked here for years in hospitals, gated housing societies, and sanitation jobs. The first police action in Bengali Market came over a week ago with several detentions. And now, shops in the area are shut, and many have even left their jobs fearing they will be arbitrarily detained, harassed, or deported.

“I haven’t gone to work in three days. I only earn Rs 12,000 a month. Every lost day matters,” said Rehman, a sanitation worker. “It feels like the Covid lockdown all over again.”

Jamaluddin, a 54-year-old construction worker from West Dinajpur, said he even told his son to stop attending college for a few days, fearing police checks. Nearby, Yusaf*, a gig delivery worker, sat outside his home playing snake and ladder as his delivery bag lay untouched. “I used to work for Zomato, but I haven’t taken up any deliveries in a while. This crackdown is one of the reasons,” he said.

What’s happening in Gurugram comes amid a similar drive in various states against alleged Bangladeshi immigrants living in India without legal documents and concerns about violations of human rights and due procedure. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accused the BJP of hounding Bangla speakers in BJP-governed states and announcing a “bhasha andolon (language movement)” from next week.

Fear, ‘extortion’, confusion

In Bengali Market, multiple residents claim those picking up men arrive in plainclothes, not police uniforms, and don’t identify themselves. Many were allegedly taken to undisclosed locations instead of police stations.

Newslaundry spoke to at least 20 locals in the area – all of whom showed us identity documents.

Pintu Ali, who has lived here for 15 years, said, “In the last few years of us living here, this has never happened before, all of this is new.”

Fatima*, a domestic worker in South City’s D1 block, stood on the roadside with her daughter, elderly parents, and a pile of luggage, ready to go back to Malda in West Bengal. She says her father was recently picked up by police in plain clothes but was let off due to his old age. She claims eight others who were picked up with him were “beaten badly”.

“I get food in my hometown in Malda as well but the whole point of coming to Gurugram was to feed my family, pay off my loan and save a bit of money as well.”

Forty-year-old Nurufa Bibi, who is a domestic worker in C block, alleged her husband was slapped and detained without explanation last week. They stormed in around 8.30 pm and started asking if he was Indian or Bangladeshi, she said. “I was crying outside the door and when I tried entering to save my husband, they pushed me back outside and locked the door.” 

With their luggage packed, her husband Habibur Rahman shows his Aadhaar card while Nurufa points to a Naag Champa plant, at the home they nurtured with care.

There’s also a lack of clarity about which paper can get them out of trouble. 

“What papers do they want? We’ve shown Aadhaar, PAN, voter ID. They still say it’s not enough,” claimed Khalibaddin Ahammed, another resident.

Some claimed officials were demanding land records or birth certificates. “We have all our papers, but asking for land papers, or birth certificates is difficult to generate,” said Minni Khatun, another resident.

Some residents claimed extortion was rampant. The police are asking for Rs 45,000 to Rs 50,000 to release the detained, alleged Reshmi, a 45-year-old resident who has been living in the area for a decade. Others said whatever cash they had was confiscated, and that men were being routinely beaten.

One mother sat beside her injured son, bedridden after an alleged police assault. Her husband, mentally disabled, lay on the floor staring at the ceiling. “We have all our papers, but they don’t even look at them,” she alleged.

Rajnish, a migrant worker from Uttar Pradesh who’s lived here for 20 years, said the silence of the mainstream media made him feel abandoned. 

A pattern

Locals claim that it is the men who are being detained while women and children are usually spared.

At least five workers said their employers in gated communities have paid their July salaries in advance and told them to go. “Our madam has told us to leave Guruguram or we might get beaten up. It’s not safe to stay back anymore,” said one domestic worker.

Residents also expressed anger at landlords. Despite collecting around Rs 5,000 in rent and another Rs 3,000 in electricity bills, residents claim they got no support. “He just smokes hookah and tells us to leave when asked for help,” claimed one.

After years of working 12-hour days, many are returning home with the same belongings they left their rural homes with – a cycle being the only new addition from Gurugram.

Cops: These are holding centres, 8 Bangladeshis identified

When Newslaundry contacted the Gurugram police commissioner’s office, they confirmed that a crackdown on “illegal immigrants” is underway but insisted that it was “administrative”. “We identify and verify individuals; if needed, we keep them under watch for 48 hours,” a spokesperson said.

Asked about what documents are being sought, the spokesperson refused to give a clear list. “Documents can be fake too.” The official maintained the verification is confirmed “by the district magistrate” and that so far the police have identified eight Bangladeshis to be handed over to the BSF and deported.

Newslaundry had earlier reported how many were being kept in municipal facilities turned into makeshift detention centres. However, on Wednesday, the police spokesperson insisted that these were “holding centres”, not detention centres. 

Asked about the need for a public notice for a verification drive, the spokesperson said it was a “routine” process. “There’s no need...If given a prior public notice, they might just leave.”

On the need for compensation for lost workdays, the official said there’s no such arrangement unless it’s written in government rules.

*Name changed to protect identity.

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