The Government Railway Police (GRP) within last one week has arrested nine Bangladesh nationals, who were sneaking into Indian territory and were trying to board long distance trains from Agartala railway station.

On May 18th last,  four Bangladesh nationals and an Indian tout were arrested from Agartala railway station by the GRP and on May 19th, again in the evening, GRP  arrested three women from the neighbouring country before boarding a long distance train for Ahmedabad for they entered into Indian territory illegally.

Giving details officer-in-charge (OC) of GRP, Agartala station, Tapash Das said that based on specific information that a few Bangladeshi nationals would be trying to leave the state by train, the security personnel of GRP and Railway Protection Force (RPF) started search operation across the Agartala station and after noticed the suspected movements of two persons including a woman, who were trying to board in a long distance train towards New Delhi, the police team detained them.

After preliminary interrogation, police have arrested two Bangladeshi, identified as Nargish Aktar and Mahendi Hassan, both residents of Bagerhat district of Bangladesh. He said that they had crossed the international boundary with help of an Indian tout and on Wednesday tried to board a New Delhi bound train.

Earlier, on May 20, GRP arrested three Bangladeshi  women who illegally crossed into Indian territory and the trio were identified as Rozina Akhter( 36), Parul Begum( 34) and Sultana Begum ( 26), who were trying to cross the state’s territory towards Ahmedabad city.

 He said arrested Bangladeshi nationals failed to produce valid documents and eventually admitted that they were Bangladeshi citizens and claimed that they entered Indian territory looking for jobs.

The Bangladeshi were produced before a local court on Wednesday with a plea for their police custody under Foreigner Act.

In recent months, Tripura has witnessed a series of arrests of foreign nationals who were found to have illegally crossed the border.

As many as 1,018 people—498 Bangladeshi citizens, 396 Indians and 124 Rohingya—were arrested between January 2023 and April 2024.