14 Bangladeshi and 3 Indian facilitators arrested in Tripura village

Agartala: Three days after National Investigation Agency (NIA) operation across five bordering districts of Tripura and the arrest of as many as 25 people in connection with their involvement in human trafficking rackets and cross-border crimes, Tripura police on Sunday apprehended 14 illegal Bangladesh nationals from Baishnabpur village of Sabroom in South Tripura.

Acting on a tip-off, police raided a house in the bordering village and arrested 14 Bangladeshi nationals, comprising four couples and four children, who entered Indian Territory without valid documents.

Police also arrested three Indian villagers identified as Kraisu Mog, Athubhai Mog, and Khoka Tripura, who were accused of facilitating the illegal entry of Bangladeshis.

They will be produced before the court on Monday, seeking remand for further investigation.

“The Bangladesh nationals entered India cutting barbed wire fencing in South Tripura on Saturday and stayed at the house of a villager. They were promised to be sent to Bengaluru or Delhi by train in search of jobs, but we are verifying their claims,” said a top police official, adding that two other villagers who are also accused of being involved in a human trafficking racket are on the run.

Earlier, the NIA, in association with Assam police, arrested 25 suspects from different parts of Tripura on November 8 for their alleged involvement in human trafficking, including Rohingya, and infiltration-related activities. The NIA conducted raids in Tripura, Assam, West Bengal, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Telangana, and Haryana at the same time, and a total of 47 operatives have been arrested.

According to the report, a large number of Bangladeshi and Rohingya were arrested during this year and last year from Tripura and Assam, and during the inquiries and questioning of the infiltrators, it was revealed that the illegal migrants were facilitated in entering India through clandestine routes by Indian middlemen, who have been playing a major role in the infiltration and human trafficking.

“The investigation revealed that a network of cross-border criminals existed across India, which was a serious national security concern with inter-state ramifications,” the official said, adding that Tripura and Assam are used as corridors for infiltration and human trafficking activities.

UNI