Over 2,600 B’desh infiltrators held in a year, MHA tells Rajya Sabha
Data for each of the 13 months (January 2024 and January 2025) showed the number of Bangladesh nationals arrested at the border nearly doubled after the political regime change in August last year
At least 2,601 Bangladesh citizens were arrested along the Indo-Bangladesh border last year, Union minister Nityanand Rai said in Raja Sabha on Tuesday.
Data for each of the 13 months (January 2024 and January 2025) shared by the minister of state for home affairs showed the number of Bangladesh nationals arrested at the border nearly doubled after the political regime change in August last year in comparison to the six-month period before that.
Rai filed the reply in response to a question in Parliament about a possible increase in number of infiltrators from Bangladesh and the action that the government was taking to prevent it.
Between August 2024 and January 2025, at least 1,584 people were caught at the border while in the six months before that (February-July 2024), the number was 879 — an increase of at least 80.2%.
On August 5, former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled Bangladesh after the political turmoil. The country is being governed by a caretaker government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus since August 5 last year. Following Hasina’s exit from Bangladesh, thousands of citizens have tried to enter India illegally fearing religious persecution and attack on human rights.
The issue of illegal infiltration through the Indo-Bangladesh border was also on the agenda when the chiefs of border guarding forces of the two countries met last month in New Delhi for the director general’s meeting. India shares a 4096.7km border with Bangladesh, of which 864.482km is yet to be fenced.
Listing some of the steps that the government was taking to prevent infiltration, Rai said that security along the border was strengthened through advanced surveillance, enhanced manpower, and technological integration.
“Measures include surveillance equipment like Hand Held Thermal Imager (HHTI), Night Vision Device (NVD), UAVs, CCTV/PTZ cameras, IR sensors, and the Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS) pilot in Dhubri (Assam). Operationally continuous patrolling, nakas, observation posts and joint operations with local police and Border Guard Bangladesh are conducted on border,” Rai said.
“The illumination of bordering areas is done through floodlights and solar lights, while riverine areas are secured with boats and floating BOPs. The Intelligence networks are reinforced to track touts and fencing is upgraded with additional barriers in sensitive zones,” Rai added.