Amidst devastating flood situation across Tripura and in major parts bordering areas and despite strong surveillance in entire stretch of India-Bangladesh along with Tripura after unrest in Bangladesh to stop any attempt infiltration by Bangladeshi anti-social elements, Altogether 12 more Bangladesh nationals and an Indian tout, were arrested by police from different parts of West Tripura district on Sunday.

After unrest in Bangladesh, the infiltration by Bangladeshi, Rohingyas  into Tripura unabated, but vigilant security forces in maximum cases managed to arrest them after they entered into Indian territory.

Giving details, officer-in-charge (OC) of West Agartala police station, Paritosh Das on August 24, the BSF posted in Lankamura border under the same police station has detained five suspected youths after they crossed the barbed wire fencing amidst flood situation.

The Bangladeshi nationals, aged between 19 years to 40 years and residents of Bangladesh's Chapai Nawabganj district in Rajshahi Division,

After preliminary interrogation, BSF handed over them to police and during interrogation, all arrested five youths confessed that they came from Chapainawabganj area of the Rajshahi Division, located in the North-western part of Bangladesh  after unrest in their country.

Das said that Bangladeshi nationals entered India illegally on Saturday in search of jobs. He said that all arrested Bangladeshi were produced before a local court under section of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Foreigner Act, Passports Act with police remand appeals  for interrogation.

In another incident, the police personnel from Lefunga police station under West Tripura district on Sunday also arrested seven more Bangladeshi along with an Indian tout.

OC of the Lefunga police station, Sahadev Das said that based on secret information, police has arrested seven Bangladeshi along with an Indian auto rickshaw driver, Jiban Biaishya, who was acted as a tout to give them save passage after they crossed the barbed wire fencing.

He said that all rested Bangladeshi and the Indian tout were also produced before a local court with police remand appeals.

It may be recalled here that the bordering Tripura, which is a top hotspot travelling destination for human trafficking, specially for Rohingyas and Bangladesh nationals, who were illegally entered into Indian territory and moves towards other parts of the country through different means of surface communication with help of Indian and Bangladeshi touts, but many time, the alert security forces have also managed to detain them.

The Rajshahi Division, located in the North-western part of Bangladesh, one of the eight divisions of the country has no border with Tripura but in the recent past many nationals of the region entered Tripura, said Das.

A Border Security Force (BSF) spokesman said that the paramilitary forces are cracking down heavily on the illegal migration by Bangladeshi nationals and have stepped up the vigil in close coordination with sister agencies in the border area.

Following the direction of Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha, the BSF has stepped up its drive against illegal Bangladeshi immigrants and all field formations are actively breaking down the nexus of touts in the bordering areas.

Tripura Frontier Inspector General Patel Piyush Purushottam Das said that 95 percent of the 856 km India-Bangladesh border with Tripura has already been fenced, while fencing work is going on in the remaining 27.5 km.

Over the last three months, more than 200 Bangladeshi nationals and 40 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.

Officials said that all the Bangladeshis and Rohingyas illegally entered Tripura to board trains or buses to go to other states in India “in search of jobs”.