Bhubaneswar: Intensifying its crackdown on Bangladeshis and Rohingyas living illegally in the state, Odisha Police on Tuesday held 448 people for verification of their documents, an officer said.

While the police in Jagatisnghpur district detained four members of a family residing in the port town of Paradip, 444 persons were brought to two locations for their identification in Jharsuguda district. “These 444 people in Jharsuguda district are not exactly detained but kept in wait till their documents are verified. We doubt that many of them do not have valid documents to stay in the country,” Himanshu Lal, IGP Northern Range Sambalpur, said.

Lal said these people, suspected to be Bangladeshis, have been residing illegally at different locations of Jharsuguda district. “These people are kept in two locations in Jharsuguda and Brajrajnagar. We are verifying their documents to identify illegal immigrants,” the IGP said, adding that legal action will be taken against the persons found to be illegally infiltrated from Bangladesh.

Jharsuguda SP Parmar Smit Parshottamdas said a special task force (STF) has been formed in Jharsuguda district to identify and deport illegal Bangladeshis and Rohingyas, as per the instruction of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

Sources said that these people are kept at the centre set up at Black Diamond College of Engineering & Technology, Jharsuguda (for Jharsuguda sub-division) while 261 suspects detained at Surabhi Kalyan Mandap at Brajrajnagar (for Brajrajnagar sub-division).