Four Bangladeshi infiltrators were arrested near the Indo-Bangladesh border in Nadia, West Bengal. They had entered India illegally a year ago and were trying to return. Authorities are probing possible links to extremist groups.
Four Bangladeshi nationals, including two women, were arrested by West Bengal Police on Monday near Hanskhali in Nadia district. The arrests took place following a tip-off from local villagers who noticed the individuals loitering suspiciously near the international border.
According to officials, the four had illegally entered India almost a year ago with the assistance of local agents operating in Nadia. After their entry, they dispersed to different parts of the country, sustaining themselves through odd jobs. However, amid heightened crackdowns by various state administrations targeting illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators, they decided to return to their home country via the same route they had used earlier.
Police sources stated that the individuals came back to Hanskhali recently with the intent of crossing over to Bangladesh at the earliest opportunity. The alertness of the villagers played a crucial role in their apprehension, as they quickly informed the local police about the strangers. Law enforcement officials reached the location promptly and took the suspects into custody.
During preliminary interrogation, all four confessed to their illegal entry into India through the Hanskhali border. Their return attempt was also aimed at evading detection amid the intensified search operations against undocumented immigrants.
They were produced before a district court in Nadia and have been remanded to police custody for further interrogation. Investigators are now probing whether the group had any connections with banned fundamentalist organizations in Bangladesh that have been reportedly trying to set up sleeper cells in India’s border regions.
The incident has once again put the spotlight on the porous nature of the Indo-Bangladesh border in Nadia, a district that has repeatedly featured in reports of illegal infiltrations. The area has also seen the busting of several rackets involved in creating forged Indian identity documents, including passports, for infiltrators from Bangladesh.
