The Tripura Police have arrested 14 Bangladeshi nationals in Sabroom in South Tripura district bordering Bangladesh, for entering India illegally. Acting on a tip-off, a joint team of the Tripura Police and Border Security Force (BSF) personnel of the 96 Battalion apprehended the Bangladeshi nationals including women and children.
The 14 arrested were taking shelter at the residence of a local individual identified as Kraisu Mog in the Baishnabpur area. Two more locals identified as Athubai Mog and Khoka Tripura have been arrested for acting as middlemen and facilitating the entry of Bangladeshi nationals illegally into India.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the arrested accused had entered India to travel to Karnataka. The BSF and Sabroom Police rushed to the residence of Kraisu Mog and detained the 14 Bangladeshis including four women, four men and children.
According to the officer-in-charge of the Sabroom Police station, Apu Das, the 62-km border in the Sabroom division could not be fully fenced due to geographical problems, and human traffickers are using it as a result.
“We are showing zero tolerance towards human trafficking. Those accused of assisting in infiltration are also being booked under stringent charges that deal with human trafficking,” Das said.
The crackdown comes five days after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) picked up 25 middlemen from Tripura who were part of a gang that was facilitating the entry of Rohingyas and Bangladeshis into Tripura.