BSF detains 1,018 infiltrators in Tripura between January 2023 and April 2024
The BSF detained 369 people, including 150 Bangladesh nationals, 160 Indians and 59 Rohingyas, in 2022, while they detained 208 intruders in 2021, of which 115 were Indians and 93 were Bangladeshis
As many as 1018 people, including 498 Bangladeshi nationals, were detained in Tripura while they were trying to cross the Indo-Bangla international border into Indian territory between January 2023 and 15 April 2024, the Border Security Force (BSF) said on Monday.
Of the Bangladeshi citizens, 337 (including 93 females and 24 children) were apprehended last year, while the rest 161 (including 43 females and 19 children) were apprehended this year.
Besides the Bangladeshi nationals, 396 were Indian nationals and another 124 were Rohingyas, the BSF said.
“The BSF Tripura Frontier apprehended 1,018 people from January 2023 till April 15 this year. Among them, 426 were outgoing and 592 were incoming,” BSF Inspector General Piyush Patel Purushottam Das said during a media conference.
The detentions have increased compared to previous years. The BSF detained 369 people, including 150 Bangladesh nationals, 160 Indians and 59 Rohingyas, in 2022, while they detained 208 intruders in 2021, of which 115 were Indians and 93 were Bangladeshis.
The BSF official stated that the number of Bangladeshi nationals and Rohingya infiltrators increased last year as they are using the state as a corridor to move to different parts of the country. Touts having access and network in different parts of Tripura are involved in facilitating the infiltration and providing shelter with fake identity documents, the official said.
“A total of 29 touts were apprehended last November and December during a special operation launched by the NIA with assistance from BSF,” the BSF IG said.
Tripura shares an 856-km-long international border with Bangladesh, and some patches of the border are yet to be fenced.
“Now, there are 11 gaps, and six patches have been fenced. There are some issues with the alignment of the border with Border Guard Bangladesh that are yet to be resolved. We can’t erect a fence on zero line according to the understanding between the two countries. As some villagers are living close to the zero line, we have placed proposal of single row fence,” the official said.
During the same aforementioned time span, the BSF also seized a huge quantity of contraband items such as yaba tablets, phensedyl, other contraband substances worth ₹94.56 crores.
In the same period, 18 banned militant groups, including the Nationalist Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT), surrendered.
