The Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR), a civil rights advocacy group, has condemned a recent large-scale detention operation by Gujarat Police, who claim the detainees are illegal immigrants, saying that innocents were targeted and even denied basic rights, calling it alarming.
The operation, conducted late night on Saturday, April 26, 2025, involved the Special Operations Group (SOG), Crime Branch, Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU), Prevention of Crime Branch (PCB), and local police teams. Raids took place in Ahmedabad (Chandola), Surat, Baroda, Rajkot, and other cities.
APCR stated the police objective, as reported in the media, was to identify, detain, and deport “illegal Bangladeshi and Pakistani nationals”. However, the civil rights group reported that thousands of families found their loved ones detained merely on suspicion, often based on vague questions about documents like ration cards and Aadhaar details.
Temporary detention centers, including Kankaria football ground, Police Stadium, Shahibagh, SOG Office Juhapura, and Crime Branch and Cyber crime offices in Ahmedabad, were filled with detainees. Relatives have alleged that many were held without access to lawyers, medical attention, or basic provisions such as food and water, including elderly persons, children, and pregnant or new mothers.
While some inter-state migrants, predominantly Muslims from states including Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, and some local Gujaratis, have reportedly been released following civil-society intervention, thousands remain in detention. As of the APCR press release date, neither the Gujarat government nor senior police officials have provided official figures on the number of alleged illegal immigrants, the criteria used to determine nationality, or the legal basis for the detentions and potential deportations.
In Ahmedabad alone, over 1,000 individuals were apprehended. However, initial screening led to only around 100 people being suspected of being illegal immigrants due to a lack of documentary proof. At the Cyber Crime police station in Shahibagh, 80 people, mainly migrants from Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar, were eventually released after their identity and residence were verified.
APCR reported that the Gujarat Police assembled detained individuals at Kankaria Football Ground and made them walk 4 to 5 kilometers to the Gaikwad Haveli headquarters of the Crime Branch.
While government and police agencies have hailed the operation as a “surgical strike” against illegal immigrants, APCR views it as largely futile and more of a political tactic lacking genuine public interest.
The organization argues that equating long-term residents and internal migrants with foreign nationals without transparent, judicially supervised procedures risks violating fundamental rights such as equality before the law (Article 14) and protection against arbitrary arrest (Article 22).
APCR expressed concern that this could lead to harassment and stigmatization of migrant workers.
APCR also raised concerns about the timing of the crackdown, which followed the recent Pahalgam militant attack in Jammu & Kashmir, suggesting a securitization of everyday life.
The group warned that such operations could damage trust between law enforcement and the public and potentially inflame communal tensions.
They also cautioned that if other states adopt similar approaches, India’s federal guarantee of free movement and labor could be jeopardized.
APCR urged an immediate review and release of all detainees with valid identity proofs, the institution of judicial oversight for future identification operations with access to legal aid and interpretation, transparent reporting by the Ministry of Home Affairs, and dialogue with civil-society organizations to create rights-based guidelines for protecting migrants.
The organization emphasized that security and civil liberties should not be mutually exclusive and that human dignity and guaranteed freedoms must be protected.
, a civil rights advocacy group, has condemned a recent large-scale detention operation by Gujarat Police, who claim the detainees are illegal immigrants, saying that innocents were targeted and even denied basic rights, calling it alarming.){kind=link}