Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has confirmed that the state has begun pushing individuals declared as foreigners by Foreigners Tribunals (FTs) across the international border into Bangladesh.

Sarma justified the action by citing a February 4 Supreme Court order that directed the state to take steps to deport such individuals, particularly those held in the Matia detention centre.

Speaking to reporters on Friday (May 30), Sarma said the state was acting in accordance with the Supreme Court’s directions.

“You know that there is a Supreme Court case, and the Supreme Court had directed us that those who are declared foreigners have to be returned (to their country of origin) through whatever means. The people who are declared foreigners but haven’t even appealed in court, we are pushing them back,” Sarma said, as reported by The Indian Express.

He added that those with pending appeals in the High Court or Supreme Court are not being subjected to the deportation process.

The Chief Minister also stated that the government has decided to expedite the detection of undocumented individuals across the state.

“So in the next few days, pushbacks will also be there, detection will also be done, and the Union government will also send some people to Bangladesh in coordination with the Bangladesh government,” he said.

Sarma emphasised that those who have not legally challenged the FT decisions have “forfeited their right to stay in Assam.”

The state’s pushback strategy has gained momentum in the wake of the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, after which hundreds of undocumented migrants have reportedly been sent back to Bangladesh via the eastern border.