Agartala, June 9 (IANS) In the unabated crackdown against human trafficking and illegal infiltration from Bangladesh, security forces arrested five Bangladeshi nationals and two Indian touts in coordinated operations at Agartala railway station over the past 48 hours, an official said on Monday.

A senior official of Government Railway Police (GRP) said that the joint operation against the infiltration involved personnel from the GRP, Railway Protection Force (RPF), Border Security Force (BSF), and central intelligence agencies.

He said that the alert security forces successfully detained two distinct groups of infiltrators moments before they were to board trains destined for Kolkata and Delhi.

“The apprehended Indian touts were instrumental in facilitating their illegal entry into India and arranging their onward travel to other parts of India,” the official said.

The official highlighted that intensified surveillance at key transit points like railway stations has resulted in a growing number of illegal infiltrator arrests. Preliminary interrogations of those arrested have yielded crucial information, he stated.

According to the official, during interrogation, the Bangladeshi nationals have revealed names of other individuals connected to this human trafficking network.

Based on these leads, massive operations were launched to apprehend additional members involved in this cross-border racket, he said.

These arrests underscore mounting concerns regarding illicit border crossings and trafficking activities along the India-Bangladesh frontier in Tripura.

Meanwhile, the security forces of Tripura and other northeastern states following the instructions from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) have intensified their efforts to detect Bangladeshi, Rohingyas and foreign nationals who are hiding in Indian territories.

Tripura, which has an 856 km border with Bangladesh, is surrounded on three sides by the neighbouring country, making the northeastern state very vulnerable and sensitive to cross-border migration issues.

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha recently once again firmly reiterated that the state government would not allow illegal immigrants from Bangladesh or Myanmar to enter Indian territory under any circumstances.

He had said that during a recent meeting with the senior security officials of different agencies, he requested the officials in the state to maintain close coordination among them to deal with the border-related issues and other related developments in view of the tension between India and Pakistan.

The Chief Minister further stated that if such infiltrators from across the border manage to enter Indian (Tripura) territory, they would be pushed back as per legal provisions.

–IANS

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