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West Bengal recorded the highest number of crimes committed by foreigners in 2023, as well as the most number of cases registered under the Foreigners Act, 1946 and Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939, according to the Crime in India 2023 report published by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) last month.
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The Foreigners Act, 1946 and the Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939 are laws centred on the presence, entry and exit of foreign nationals visiting India, as well as their registration, the regulation of their activities and movement on Indian soil, and the legal framework on the powers conferred on the Indian government for the same.
In 2023, West Bengal reported a total of 1,021 criminal cases committed by foreigners, 989 out of which had been recorded under these two laws. These figures are the highest among all States and Union Territories.
Seven cases of crimes committed by foreign nationals in West Bengal in 2023 had been recorded under the Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 and two under The Arms Act, 1959. Few cases of crimes by foreigners were also recorded under offences such as cheating, causing grievous hurt and human trafficking.
An analysis of NCRB’s crime records over the years reveal that West Bengal has consistently ranked the highest in terms of the number of criminal cases recorded against foreigners. In 2022, it recorded 723 cases, while in 2021 and 2020 it recorded 1,287 and 635 crimes against foreigners, respectively.
The same trend has been prevalent since 2014, with West Bengal recording at least 500 cases under the Foreigners Act, 1946. Every year, the figures from the State were the highest in the country.
“West Bengal has one of the longest international borders in this country, which it shares with Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. So, there is a high chance that people of other countries, including trespassers, will enter India through West Bengal, especially considering that other bordering States usually have their borders under harsh climatic conditions or along unbreachable geographical barriers, which is not necessarily the case here,” retired Indian Police Service officer Nazrul Islam told The Hindu.
He further explained that even in general criminal cases, when a crime is investigated and the accused is found to be a foreign national, the Foreigners Act, 1939, is added as a section in addition to the other offences being recorded against the accused.
BJP’s poll plank
This data assumes significance amidst ongoing political developments in the State, with the Opposition in West Bengal alleging a high degree of “infiltration” of Bangladeshi nationals and making that their poll plank for the 2026 West Bengal Assembly election.
Notably, ahead of an impending Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of West Bengal’s voters’ lists, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA and Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly Suvendu Adhikari has time and again alleged that bordering districts adjacent to Bangladesh have undergone a sharp demographic shift due to “illegal foreigners”, and has accused the Mamata Banerjee government of not giving sufficient land to the Home Ministry for fencing along the border.
He and his party have also reiterated their support for an SIR in West Bengal akin to that of Bihar, alleging that foreign nationals from Bangladesh and Myanmar illegally penetrated West Bengal’s electoral rolls.
West Bengal’s fencing issue
The debate around West Bengal’s border fencing issue had intensified earlier this year when thousands of migrant workers from West Bengal were being detained in several States on suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals.
Fencing along the West Bengal-Bangladesh border and the acquisition of land for the same is at various stages of implementation for roughly 229 kilometres.
The Home Ministry informed the Lok Sabha in August this year that the West Bengal government has handed over land along 77 km of the State’s border with Bangladesh to the Border Security Force (BSF) for the purpose of fencing and other infrastructure projects.
Also read: Land acquisition for fencing 148 km of West Bengal-Bangladesh border yet to start
The Home Ministry had also informed Parliament that the total length of the Indo–Bangladesh border in West Bengal is 2,216.7 km, out of which 1,647.696 km has already been fenced. “Of the remaining 569.004 km, which has yet to be fenced, 112.780 km is non-feasible and 456.224 km is feasible,” the response by the Ministry said in response to a Rajya Sabha question.
Ex-police officer Mr. Islam said: “Currently, the Government of India and the Government of West Bengal are likely in talks regarding the fencing of a part of the border. However, to my understanding, even if the borders are freshly fenced, trespassing of foreigners might decrease but will not stop it entirely,” former police officer Mr. Islam said.
Published – October 11, 2025 08:06 pm IST
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