On July 21, 2025, a CPI-ML team visited Gurugram after receiving reports that many migrant workers were being detained to check their citizenship. The team said it discovered a temporary detention center in Sector 10, where 75 male workers had been held for three days. The local police officer allowed the team to meet some of the detainees.
The workers, mostly from Assam (65) and some from Nadia and Murshidabad districts in Bengal (10), were taken into custody late on July 19. They were forced to live in a small, overcrowded hall under very poor and unhygienic conditions. Similar detentions have occurred in other parts of Gurugram, with some areas holding more than 200 workers, according to the CPI-ML team.
These migrant workers do various informal jobs like sanitation, garbage sorting, construction, security, and rickshaw pulling.
“Most of them seem to have their voter cards, PAN cards and Aadhar cards. The Assamese workers the team spoke to, have their NRC certificates in addition to the other documents. Notably, some of them lost some documents when their colonies were demolished over the last one year,” CPI-ML said in a statement.
“These detentions appear to follow a Ministry of Home Affairs order issued in early May, directing states, UTs, and district authorities to submit ‘credential reports’ on suspected foreigners within 30 days. During this period, such individuals are to be confined in holding centers. If no report is received, the Foreigners Registration Office may initiate deportation,” it said.
CPI-ML said that it strongly condemns this order as unfair and a violation of fundamental rights, including protection from unlawful detention and the right to earn a living.
“Detaining individuals under suspicion alone, especially in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, imposes serious health risks and economic harm, with no compensation for lost earnings.”
Akash Bhattacharya, speaking for CPI-ML Delhi State Committee, said, “Citizenship status can be checked through normal police procedures within fixed time limits. Detention is neither necessary nor justified. The 30-day holding period increases the risk of wrongful deportation, especially with recent mistakes in verification processes.”
He added that the government is using such measures to target migrant workers, especially Bengali-speaking Muslims, who are vulnerable to communal discrimination linked to anti-Rohingya and anti-Bangladeshi campaigns.
CPI-ML demanded the immediate withdrawal of the MHA order, a return to standard verification processes, compensation for detained workers for their lost income and mental trauma, and an end to harassment of Bengali-speaking migrants across India.
