Representational Photo of Rohingya refugees
Credit: Reuters Photo
Guwahati: In major drives against illegal migration from neighbouring Bangladesh, Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel arrested 88 Bangladeshis and Rohingyas in Tripura and some other places under Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) in the past two months.
A statement issued by Chief public relations officer of the NFR, Sabyasachi De on Sunday said 47 illegal migrants and five Indian agents were arrested during drive in June while 41 others were nabbed in July so far.
A team of RPF detected 11 persons at Agartala railway station in Tripura on July 2. The group had nine females and two males. "Most of them were arrested after they could not provide valid documents and later admitted that they had crossed the border illegally. Some other migrants who were caught at Agartala also confessed that they entered India illegally and were on their way to Kolkata via train," said the statement.
Similar arrests were made in Badarpur in Tripura and New Jalpaiguri in North Bengal, he said.
India shares 4,096km long border with Bangladesh but illegal migration has remained a concern through the porous stretches in Tripura, Assam, Meghalaya and Bengal. De said RPF has stepped up vigil in trains and railway stations to check illegal migrants taking the trains to enter rest of India. Many such migrants were caught with fake Indian documents and were found while entering Kolkata, Delhi, Bangalore and other cities, mainly in search of work.
BSF has also stepped up vigil and caught several illegal migrants from Bangladesh in Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura in the past few months.
On Sunday, BSF personnel in Tripura arrested five Bangladeshi nationals and two Rohingyas during drive along the border. Rohingyas have been taking shelter in Bangladesh after they were forced to flee Myanmar due to conflict since 1997.