Shillong: Close to 6,000 illegal immigrants have been detected and convicted in Meghalaya in the last 46 years, Meghalaya chief minister Conrad K. Sangma informed the state Assembly on Friday. In a written reply to queries raised by KHNAM legislator Adelbert Nongrum, Conrad said, in 1972, when Meghalaya became a full fledged state, only eight illegal immigrants were detected who were subsequently prosecuted and deported. As of last year, the corresponding figure was 34 while till March this year, only four have been detected and prosecuted. "Out of 5,995 illegal immigrants convicted, 5,970 were deported to their respective countries only after the completion of their sentence by the immigration checkposts through the BSF, and 25 of the remaining are lodged in various jails till March 2918," Conrad said. He said whenever any foreign national or a Bangladeshi national, who have illegally entered or stayed into Meghalaya, are detected, he or she is prosecuted as per the provisions of the Foreigners Act and for those involved in criminal activities, criminal cases are filed against them besides cases under the Foreigners Act. People of doubtful citizenship, who are detected at the interstate border without any proof of Indian citizenship, are sent back directly to their place of origin, Conrad said. He pointed out that there have been instances of persons with doubtful citizenship from Assam, Tripura and Bengal claiming to be genuine residents of one of these states and trying to enter Meghalaya. Conrad said the government has been taking several steps to tackle illegal migration, whether it was from the 443km international border with Bangladesh or through the 884km interstate border with Assam. Moreover, Conrad said the government has enacted the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act, 2016, for the verification and regulation of tenants residing in the state. The rules for implementation of the act have come into effect from January 1, 2018. The state government is also in the process of setting up 45 facilitation centres at the state's entry and exit points on the interstate border. Land acquisition for setting up of these centres is under process.