Illegal Bangladeshis use remote Sundarban islands for entering Bengal

Kolkata, Dec 25 Security agencies, central and state, have identified certain remote islands in West Bengal's Sundarban area as the probable safe shelters for the Bangladeshi infiltrators illegally crossing over to the Indian side.

Sources said the 13 most vulnerable islands were identified in the Gosaba block in the South 24 Parganas district considering the lack of security arrangements there because of the remote nature of such islands. The Sundarban area falls in the South 24 Parganas district near the border with Bangladesh.

As per reports, the Border Security Force (BSF) has its camp in just one of these 13 islands, which are often used as temporary shelters by the fishermen from the district frequently venturing to the deep seas for fishing.

This factor, sources added, is making these islands the preferred safe shelters for illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators. They first enter the Indian territory posing as local fishermen, then take shelter for some time in these islands and finally after getting their fake Indian documents get mixed with the larger population in the entire district and subsequently in the adjacent state capital, Kolkata.

Another factor that makes these islands the preferred safe shelters for illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators is because of their easy and quick access to Kolkata through the Basanti Expressway.

Already, security agencies, both central and state, have beefed up surveillance at the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) with Bangladesh in the state of West Bengal, apprehending illegal crossover of Bangladeshi citizens, including members of underground outfits who have become active again amid the ongoing crisis in that country.

Sources said that the decision to beef up the surveillance has been taken following two recent developments, the first being two Bangladeshi marine vessels being nabbed for crossing the IMBL and entering the Indian waters illegally.

The second development, sources added, is the intelligence input that some members of the Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HUT) were suddenly trying to become active in the bordering districts of West Bengal with Bangladesh making attempts to set up sleeper cells there.