Assam: 8 Bangladeshi nationals arrested in South Salmara-Mankachar district

Bangladeshi nationals were allegedly trying to cross the India-Bangladesh international border, south Salmara senior superintendent of police said

Silchar: Eight Bangladeshi nationals were arrested in Assam’s South Salmara-Mankachar district while allegedly trying to cross the India-Bangladesh international border, police said.

Police recovered fake Indian documents including Aadhaar cards, voter ID cards, and driving licences. (Representative photo)

According to police, the eight residents of Bangladesh’s Rajshahi district — Tarek Ali (26), Mohammad Rabel (25), Mohammad Riyaz (22), Abdul Hamid (22), Nadim Islam (26), Dulal Haque (30), Md Morsalim (22), and Md Shariful Islam (25) — were travelling from Guwahati.

“Based on specific information, we launched an operation and arrested them near the India-Bangladesh international border. They were in a vehicle, and it is suspected they were on their way to Bangladesh,” South Salmara senior superintendent of police (SSP) Horen Tokbi said.

Police recovered fake Indian documents including Aadhaar cards, voter ID cards, and driving licences.

SSP Tokbi said a case was registered under relevant laws, and further investigations are underway.

“The group had entered India earlier and was travelling from somewhere outside Assam. They first reached Guwahati and later took a private vehicle to travel to Salmara. We received this information from our intelligence sources and immediately acted,” he said.

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, while visiting Darrang on Monday, where the drive started in September 2021, said his government is determined to remove “illegal settlers and suspected Bangladeshis” from encroached land.

The Government Railway Police (GRP) on Tuesday detained eight Bangladeshi nationals at Assam’s New Bongaigaon Railway Station for allegedly entering India illegally and attempting to travel to Chennai for work.