In an unprecedented move on April 29, 2025, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), with firm backing from Gujarat Police, launched one of the country’s most extensive anti-encroachment drives near Chandola Lake. The target: illegal settlements allegedly housing Bangladeshi immigrants in the Siyasatnagar Bangal Vaas area.
Branded a “national security cleanup,” the operation brought down nearly 8,000 permanent houses and several makeshift shelters. The area had become a known hotspot for unauthorized migrants and was flagged for threatening the region’s demographic balance.
The crackdown was executed with military-level planning—74 JCBs, 20 Hitachi excavators, 500 dumpers, and 200 trucks, along with 3,000 police officers and 1,800 civic workers, worked in coordination to clear the zone.
Law enforcement also seized luxury assets allegedly linked to Lallu Bihari a.k.a. Mehmud Pathan, the alleged kingpin accused of enabling illegal entries with forged documents. His plush farmhouse, stocked with liquor and lavishly built, was flattened during the action.
Before demolition began, 890 suspected illegal immigrants were detained—214 of them minors. Of these, 143 were verified as Bangladeshi nationals. Across Ahmedabad and Surat, over 1,000 more were apprehended, though many vanished beforehand.
Petitions to stop the drive were dismissed by the Gujarat High Court, which emphasized national security over individual claims, paving the way for the sweeping operation.
This bold initiative reflects Gujarat’s aggressive stance on illegal encroachment and immigration.
