Migrants flee Gurgaon amid crackdown: 400 rounded up in 6 days; 'we’re not being heard,' says worker

GURGAON: Making a living washing cars in the city for the last six years, Karimul Islam was among several Palra residents packing their bags and leaving on Wednesday.A backpack slung over his shoulder and a one-way flight ticket in hand - paid for by his worried family back in West Bengal - 24-year-old Karimul boarded an auto, saying this was perhaps the last time he would see Gurgaon. In this slum settlement, and in several such colonies in the city, hundreds of migrant families have either left or are preparing to leave, afraid of "being targeted" in the ongoing drive to identify Bangladeshis and Rohingyas living illegally in the Millennium City."I have documents like Aadhaar, voter ID, but they're not listening to anyone. They are rounding up people randomly and detaining them. I had to ask my family for money to buy a flight ticket because trains are not available at such a short notice," said Karimul.Over the last six days, around 400 people have been rounded up in the city, according to sources, for verification of documents.Around 250 are still inside the four community centres in Sector 10A, Badshapur, Sector 40 and Manesar that are doubling as detention centres.What is driving these fears, according to migrant workers living in these colonies, is the perception that any Bengali-speaking person could be targeted in the verification drive. Locals said around 200 migrants at Baliawas in Sector 58 had left for Assam in batches. Others accused police of assaulting their family members and picking them up randomly, saying they were "shattered to be treated like criminals".Saminul Islam from Assam said he has been living in Baliawas for the last 15 years and calls Gurgaon home. His wife and two children are here too. "Suddenly, we are being labelled as illegal Bangladeshis. Several of our relatives have been detained in community centres even though they possess identity proofs of their citizenship. We are Indians, not criminals," he said."There's fear because we don't know what's going to happen next," said Panahrul Islam, who is among Palra residents to have stayed back. "Every night, we fear someone will come knocking on doors, asking for papers. But even after people show documents, they are taken away. Some have been taken away while returning from work," added Panahrul, who cleans building glass facades.For 29-year-old Sukhi Bibi, who works as a domestic helper in housing societies in sectors 69 and 70, Friday night was a nightmare. "They took away five people from our house. If my husband had been home, he would have been taken too," she said. "They are targeting the men first. My husband and children are leaving the city. I haven't gone to work because of constant fear," she said.Sukhi Bibi added, "Agar hum Bengal se hain, aur Bengali bolte hain, to kya hum Bangladeshi ho gaye? West Bengal is desh ka hissa hai (If we are from Bengal and speak Bengali, does that make us Bangladeshi? West Bengal is part of this country."Asiman Bibi (20) said her husband was taken six days ago and the family has not been allowed to meet him since. "We don't know where he is. He used to clean cars. We have all his documents, but they are not even telling us which centre he's in," she said. Shabnam Bibi, who claimed that her husband was picked up despite having valid identity documents, sat outside her locked room in Sector 58 holding her two children. "We have lived here for 12 years, worked hard, paid school fees. Now we are suddenly criminals? My husband was rounded up and I don't know where to go now," she said.With no communication from the authorities, legal aid or clarification on the verification process, there is a vacuum in which all kinds of rumours, like talk of mass detentions and deportations, have begun to swirl, amplifying the sense of panic. "We have been working in Gurgaon for the last six years but there is no one to stand with us now. So people are just leaving with just a bag, even without tickets," said Asadul Sayeed, a scrap dealer in Palra.Taramiya said he was among those who were rounded up in Baliawas and taken to a police station for verification four days ago. "They wrote our names in the register. When we were being taken to the police station, the cops claimed that we would be released after verification. I was released but some others detained," said the labour contractor, who is from Assam.He alleged 11 people picked up from Sector 103 were assaulted by cops and only released when they paid Rs 1.2 lakh. "I am also being forced to leave Gurgaon with my daughters who study in class 2 and 3 at govt school in Behrampur," Taramiya added. Salilur Rehman (44) of Assam, another labour contractor, also alleged people he knew had been assaulted.Police refuted allegations of assault and bribery and said cops were working according to protocols. "There are CCTV cameras at police stations where they were taken for verification as well as at the community centres. No such incident of assault or bribery has taken place. We are following the legal process and have already identified eight Bangladeshis who were residing here illegally. Legal proceedings have started to deport them," Gurgaon police spokesperson Sandeep Kumar said.A detainee at Sector 10A community centre, meanwhile, said people in their settlement had decided to meet the police with their papers, rather than live in fear. "After learning about the verification drive, 16 of us went for verification voluntarily. Despite having documents, we were sent to the detention centre last Saturday. We work as contractual sanitation workers with the corporation," he said.