2 women among 5 Rohingya persons held in Tripura, police say they wanted to move to Hyderabad in search of jobs

On July 5, 25 Rohingya persons were held in North Tripura district while they were trying to leave for Hyderabad in search of jobs. In their preliminary interrogation, the police had come to know that the accused had entered Tripura via Sonamura in Sepahijala district and Kailasahar in Unakoti district from Bangladesh.

In the last few weeks, a large number of Bangladeshi and Rohingya persons were arrested at the Agartala Railway Station and different parts of Tripura for illegally entering the state.

With the rise in infiltration of foreign nationals, Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha a few days ago held a meeting with the top brass of the Border Security Force and asked them to maintain tight vigil and take strict action against those involved in helping Bangladeshi nationals to infiltrate into Indian territory.

Meanwhile, Patel Piyush Purushottam Das, IG, BSF, while addressing the media earlier this week, had said that manpower was beefed up at the sensitive border outposts and a series of special operations were launched to crackdown on the network of touts and smugglers in the bordering areas.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had arrested several Tripura youths in connection with a case registered at Guwahati last year for their involvement in human trafficking of Bangladeshi and Rohingya persons through the state. The latest arrest in the case came on June 16 this year.

Notably, Tripura shares an 856-km-long international border with Bangladesh, parts of which are still unfenced due to local disputes.