BSF opens fire to stop infiltration bid from Bangladesh in Tripura; four others stopped in Assam

Guwahati: BSF troops in Tripura on Monday had to open fire at a group of 12 to 15 Bangladeshi nationals, who allegedly tried to illegally cross the border and enter India.

BSF said that taking advantage of rains and poor visibility, the group tried to cross the border at Paharmura area in Khowai district but were challenged by the troops guarding the border.

"On being challenged by BSF troops, they tried to negotiate the border fencing forcefully. To prevent the attempt of infiltration, one round of pump action gun was fired following which the group of Bangladeshis fled towards Bangladesh territory. The alertness of BSF troops managed to prevent a major incident of Infiltration," said a statement issued by Tripura Frontier of BSF on Monday.

This comes a day after BSF personnel caught at least 11 Bangladeshi nationals after they illegally crossed the border in Meghalaya and Bengal.

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday morning said four other Bangladeshi nationals, Motiur Sheikh, Mushiar Mullah, Tania Mullah and Rita Mullah, tried to illegally cross the border from South Assam's Karimganj district at around 1.30 am. "Police effectively intervened at the zero point and promptly repelled them, preventing their unauthorised entry," Sarma posted on X. A portion of the water border with Bangladesh in Karimganj district has still remained unfenced due to objections by the neighbouring country.

The BSF said surveillance and domination along the 4,096km India-Bangladesh border in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram and Bengal has been stepped up to prevent illegal influx in view of the unrest in Bangladesh.

Several organisations in the Northeast also moved the Centre with demand for steps to prevent illegal influx from Bangladesh. They said illegal migration since the Partition has caused demographic disturbance and posed a threat to the identity and culture of the indigenous communities in the Northeast.