Eleven Bangladeshi nationals including six males and five females were taken into custody by the authorities on the night of 29th June during a late-night operation at the Agartala Railway Station. They were apprehended by the Government Railway Police (GRP) and Railway Protection Force (RPF) while trying to enter India illegally with preparations to take trains to Bengaluru, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, and Odisha among other destinations. A case has been submitted against them and they will be presented before the court on 30th June with charges of violating the Foreigners Act.
The infiltrators have been identified as MD Sujan Rana (20), Azizul Shaik (30), MD Limon (19), Nargis Akhtar (34), MD Yousuf Ali (35), MD Sahidul Islam (26), Nipa Mandal (27), Akhe Begam (35), Omi Akhtar (35), Sajib Ali (19) and Asma Biswas (36). “Agartala GRP (Government Railway Police) has registered a case in this regard and the accused will be presented before the court tomorrow. We can’t rule out the possibility of human trafficking attempts. We have started an investigation into the case,” stated Officer-In-Charge, Tapas Das. The Bangladeshi nationals were unable to provide a legitimate travel document to enter India during their interrogation.
The women planned to travel to Kolkata first, then board trains for their other destinations, according to the results of the preliminary investigation. Railway police began looking for the accused on the evening of 29th June, based on specific information that some Bangladeshis had crossed the international boundary in the Sepahijala area of Tripura and were about to board a train at the Agartala railway station. A few cell phones, some Indian and Bangladeshi currency along with a few Bangladeshi documents have also been confiscated by the authorities.
In less than two months, 72 Bangladeshi nationals, the majority of whom were women, were apprehended in Tripura. All of the intruders had entered India through unofficial means while looking for work in different parts of the nation. Authorities are being extra vigilant as a result of the incident, which has brought attention to the ongoing problems with illegal immigration across the border between Bangladesh and India.
Two Bangladeshi women Feroza Khatun (22) and Anamika Aktar alias Akhi (20) had been arrested on 27th June at the same station for similar violations. “We acted on a tip-off that two Bangladeshi nationals were trying to get out of the state. We arrested the two Bangladeshi women who had illegally entered India and were trying to board a train to Karnataka,” informed Tapas Das, Government Railway Police Station in-charge, Agartala Railway Station. An initial investigation revealed that the women intended to travel to Pune and some regions of Karnataka. They were brought before a local court and prosecuted for breaching the Foreigners Act.
Four Bangladeshi women and one Indian national were reportedly nabbed by Government Railway Police at the Agartala railway station on 26th June, just before they were about to board trains that would take them to Ahmedabad and Pune. The arrested individuals were identified as Meem Sultana (23), Rubaiya Sultana alias Asha (20), Ritu Begam (28), and Jyoti Khatun (20), all residents of Bangladesh. The Indian citizen was identified as MD Kashem Miah (24) from Tripura’s Sepahijala.
According to reports, the infiltrators had entered India unlawfully from Bangladesh and some of them planned to go to Ahmedabad while others aimed to take a train to Pune. Their unauthorized entry and transit into India are believed to have been facilitated by the captured Indian national. The accused were scheduled to appear in His Majesty’s Court, the next day after the GRP lodged a complaint at the Agartala Police Station.
Seven Bangladeshi people, including two women and a ten-month-old child, were caught by the Railway Police at Agartala Station on 23rd March for illegally crossing into India. According to Tapas Das, the Officer-in-Charge of the Government Railway Police at Badharghat, two of the inmates had disguised themselves as women to hide their true identities. They confessed to being citizens of Bangladesh during questioning. They were arrested before could board a train to Chennai. Authorities reported that the offenders have been trying to utilize the Northeastern state as a gateway to travel to major cities including Chennai and Kolkata.
(With inputs from ANI)
