16 more Bangladeshi nationals, three Rohingyas held in Tripura

Agartala, Nov 22 The infiltration from unrest hit Bangladesh into northeastern states of India continued with 16 more nationals of the neighbouring country, arrested by the security forces in Tripura on Friday, officials said.

Officials said that 12 Bangladeshi citizens, including women and minors, were detained at Teliamura Railway Station in Khowai district by the Railway Protection Force (RPF) of Northeast Frontier Railway and the Government Railway Police (GRP) in association with the Border Security Force (BSF).

The official quoting the intruders said that the Bangladeshi nationals had entered Indian territory through the Silachari area of Gomati district with assistance from a cross-border agent and were en route to Delhi in search of jobs.

Several mobile phones were recovered from the detainees.

In the second incident, four Bangladeshi nationals, including a woman, were detained at Dharmanagar Railway Station in north Tripura, adjoining Assam, during a routine check of Tripura Sundari Express train.

These infiltrators confessed that they had entered India via the Sonamura border in the Sepahijala district with the help of an intermediary and were similarly planning to travel to Delhi in search of jobs.

An official statement said that these operations underscore the vigilance and coordination of security agencies in safeguarding railway stations, premises and routes from misuse in cross-border illegal activities.

Over the last four months, around 500 Bangladeshi nationals and over 63 Rohingyas were arrested by the GRP, BSF, and Tripura Police from the Agartala railway station and various other places in Tripura after they illegally entered India.

The Rohingyas illegally entered India after fleeing their camps in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar where more than one million displaced Rohingyas from Myanmar have been living since 2017.

After the Bangladesh unrest began in June-July, BSF enhanced surveillance along the 4,096-km border with the neighbouring country to prevent trans-border crime and infiltration, the BSF officials said.

Five Indian states – West Bengal (2216 km), Tripura (856 km), Meghalaya (443 km), Mizoram (318 km) and Assam ( 263 km) share a border with Bangladesh.