On Sunday, 4th August, 12 Bangladeshi infiltrators, including three women, were arrested from the West Tripura district for illegal entry into India. The accused persons are said to have been arrested near the international border in the Lankamura and Shanmura areas on the outskirts of the state capital.
“We are interrogating the detainees. We have booked a case under the Foreigners Act and the Passport Act. We produced them in the court today and sought their police remand,” S K Bardhan, inspector of the West Agartala police station was quoted as saying.
The accused individuals after the arrest claimed that they were trying to return to Bangladesh.
This comes just days after 4 Bangladeshi infiltrators were arrested from Kolkata. The West Bengal Police arrested the individuals on 22nd July after they failed to provide valid identity documents. “They could not provide valid identity documents and confessed to being Bangladeshi nationals who entered India illegally. They stayed at a rented accommodation in Narendrapur police station area,” Anandapur police was quoted as saying as they launched an investigation into the case.
Earlier on 30th June, eleven Bangladeshi infiltrators were arrested from Agartala railway station for entering the country without any valid travel document. They had crossed the international border through Tripura’s Sepahijala district and had trains to board to various parts of the country from Agartala. The police had suspected human trafficking angle as well.
Reports suggest that the Government train Police have apprehended more than 200 Bangladeshi nationals and 32 Rohingyas this year. These arrests have been made mostly by the Border Security Force, police, and other agencies at the Agartala train station, Chandrapur Inter-State Bus Terminus, Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport, and other locations throughout Tripura.
With the increase in foreign infiltration, Chief Minister Manik Saha interacted with top BSF commanders in July. The BSF has held several talks with the Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) at the commander and outpost levels.
