Seven Bangladeshis with US dollars arrested for trying to illegally cross Tripura border

Several Bangladeshi nationals, who tried to similarly enter India, were arrested in Tripura and Meghalaya since the unrest in neighbouring country began.

Guwahati: Seven Bangladeshi nationals, including a woman and a child, were arrested when they tried to illegally cross the border in Tripura, BSF said on Monday.

The seven were arrested on Sunday night by the BSF troops deployed in Harnakhola border outpost in West Tripura district. "The Bangladeshi nationals were caught while they were trying to negotiate the border fencing," BSF said in a statement.

Two Bangladeshi nationals are residents of Moulvibazar district, while five others, including a woman and child, are from Brahmanbaria. 1.5 lakh cash in Bangladesh taka and $300 were also recovered from their possession, said the statement.

The BSF stepped up surveillance and domination along the 4,096 km India-Bangladesh border in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram and Bengal to prevent illegal influx in view of the unrest in Bangladesh. Several Bangladeshi nationals, who tried to similarly enter India, were arrested in Tripura and Meghalaya since the unrest began.

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.