Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge warns against vigilantism on migrants, urges people to share info with police
Bengaluru: Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge on Saturday urged people to refrain from conducting “self-styled investigations” into migrants, posting videos on social media and criticising the government, warning that such acts of vigilantism and moral policing would not be tolerated.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Kharge said that individuals who gather information and share it on social media could inadvertently alert international networks and jeopardise covert operations being carried out by the government and law enforcement agencies.
“People should stop conducting self-declared investigations, making videos and posting them on social media and then criticising the government. The government will not tolerate vigilantism or moral policing,” Kharge said.
He appealed to people who have information about suspected illegal immigrants or activities to directly approach the police or the concerned authorities instead of sharing the information publicly.
“Those who are genuinely patriotic and concerned about the interests of the state should provide any information they have directly to the police or the concerned officials,” he said.
Kharge said the state government had already identified and traced around 1,000 migrants from different countries, including Bangladesh and African nations, over the past three months and handed them over to the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) for further action.
He said the government was maintaining continuous coordination with officials of the Border Security Force (BSF) and the FRRO in dealing with the issue.
The Home Minister said the government was committed to taking stringent action against those found to be residing in the state without valid authorisation.
“We are in constant touch with BSF and FRRO officials. The government is committed to taking 100 per cent strict action in this matter,” he said.
Kharge also warned that publicising sensitive information about ongoing operations could compromise security and undermine investigations.
He said the government and law enforcement agencies were already taking necessary measures to identify and act against unauthorised migrants and urged citizens to cooperate with the authorities rather than taking matters into their own hands.
The remarks come amid an intensified police exercise in Bengaluru to identify suspected illegal immigrants and verify their documents. Police teams have been conducting verification drives in several parts of the city as part of the ongoing operation.