16 Bangladeshi Nationals Held; Assam Pushes Back 6

Meghalaya, Jan 24, 2025, By Our Correspondent35

In a series of operations, Indian authorities arrested 16 Bangladeshi nationals across Meghalaya, Tripura, and Assam, officials reported on Friday. The Border Security Force (BSF) also took measures to secure the international border ahead of Republic Day.

The BSF’s Meghalaya frontier handed over six detained Bangladeshi nationals to Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) on Friday as a goodwill gesture. These individuals were apprehended on Thursday while attempting to cross the East Jaintia Hills border in Meghalaya.

In another incident, eight Bangladeshi nationals, including two women, were arrested in Meghalaya's West Garo Hills district on Friday. The group, who entered India through the Dalu area, was found carrying two snakes. Legal proceedings are underway, and the snakes have been handed over to wildlife officials for further action.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced on X (formerly Twitter) that six Bangladeshi nationals were apprehended in Assam on Friday and subsequently deported. However, he did not disclose the district where the arrests took place. The infiltrators were identified as Md Juman, Md Sahib, Hanupa Begum, Md Kholil, Saiful Rahman, and Rocky.

In Tripura, Government Railway Police (GRP) arrested two Bangladeshi nationals at the Agartala railway station. During initial questioning, the men, identified as Gyas Uddin (26) and Mainuddin (25) from Chattogram, revealed their plan to travel to Kolkata.