7 more Bangladeshi nationals, including toddler, held in Tripura

way2barak, Aug 20 : The Border Security Force (BSF) has apprehended seven more Bangladeshi nationals, including a woman along with a toddler, in Tripura and recovered Bangladeshi and US currency from them, officials said on Monday.

A BSF spokesman said that on the intervening night of Sunday-Monday, troopers deployed at Harnakhola in West Tripura district apprehended the Bangladesh nationals and a toddler while they were trying to negotiate the border fencing.

He said that four of the intruders, including the woman with her child, are residents of the Brahmanbaria district while the remaining two are residents of the Moulvibazar district.

The BSF spokesman said that 1.5 lakhs Bangladeshi taka and 300 dollars were also recovered from their possession.

After the troubles and violence began in the neighbouring country, over the last three months, 257 Bangladeshi nationals and 32 Rohingyas have been arrested by the Government Railway Police, the BSF, and the Tripura Police from the Agartala railway station and various other places in Tripura after they illegally entered India.

The BSF spokesman said that during the past few weeks, the force has foiled several infiltration bids in different bordering areas of the northeastern states and also arrested some Indian touts and human traffickers. He said that in view of ongoing unrest in Bangladesh, the BSF has stepped up its vigilance along the India-Bangladesh border with northeastern states and maintained close coordination with Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) at various levels.

The BSF has introduced a multi-pronged strategy to prevent trans-border crime and illegal infiltration, with state-of-the-art hand-held thermal imagers and drones have been inducted.

BSF Director General Daljit Singh Chawdhary, Additional Director General, BSF, Eastern Command Ravi Gandhi, and Inspector Generals of BSF’s four frontiers in the northeastern region are regularly visiting the border areas and closely reviewing the preparedness of the troopers. Gandhi is also heading a committee constituted by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to monitor the current situation on the India-Bangladesh border, which spans 1,880 km with Tripura (856 km), Meghalaya (443 km), Mizoram (318 km) and Assam (263 km).

Meanwhile, the BSF, in another operation, apprehended an Indian national at Mantoli in West Tripura district and recovered 14 small packets of suspected brown sugar from his possession.

On further questioning and information obtained, 1,000 yaba tablets were recovered from a culvert near Nischintipur bridge.