14 arrested for attempted border crossing in Tripura’s Unakoti district

Investigations revealed that the Bangladeshi nationals hailed from Barisal and Chittagong, while the Rohingyas had been residing in a refugee camp in Bangladesh’s Chittagong since 2017. Recently, they entered Sylhet in Bangladesh before attempting to enter India.

Preliminary investigations by the police indicated that the individuals had crossed the Indo-Bangla border with the assistance of Indian touts and had planned to travel to New Delhi via Assam. Upon receiving information, the police alerted the Kadamtala police station in the North district, leading to the seizure of three vehicles at the interstate check-post between Tripura and Assam. None of the arrested individuals possessed any legal documents.

Debasish Saha, the Dharmanagar sub divisional police officer (SDPO), said, “We found that the Bangladeshi and Rohingya nationals had crossed the Indo-Bangla border with the help of Indian touts. Later, they planned to move to Karimganj in Assam via three vehicles. We arrested 11 foreign nationals and the three Indian touts. We are investigating the matter.”

Rehman Ali, one of the arrested Bangladeshi nationals, said, “We entered India via Sonamura. Later, someone whom we don’t know brought us here.” Jannatara Begam, one of the arrested women, explained, “My husband used to drive a car. Our financial condition is not good, so my brother-in-law asked us to come to Delhi where he lives. So, my husband, my brother, and I wanted to go there for work.”

According to a report by the Border Security Force (BSF), a total of 369 individuals, including 59 Rohingyas, 160 Indians, and 150 Bangladeshi nationals, were arrested in various operations in Tripura in 2022. These figures represent an increase compared to the previous year, when 208 “intruders” were apprehended in 2021 while attempting to cross the Indo-Bangla international border in different parts of Tripura, including 115 Indians and 93 Bangladeshis.

Tripura, which shares an 856-km-long international border with Bangladesh, is surrounded by its neighbor on three sides. However, certain portions of the border remain unfenced due to local disputes over land and demarcation-related issues.