BSF nabs 21 intruders along Bangladesh border

The BSF on Sunday morning apprehended 21 illegal infiltrators — 11 Bangladeshi nationals and 10 Rohingya migrants — from different locations in Tripura.

Based on specific intelligence inputs, the BSF teams detected suspicious movement at the Agartala railway station, where 11 individuals were found to be Bangladeshi nationals who had illegally entered India and were attempting to travel further within the Indian territory, the BSF official said.

In a separate incident in North Tripura, the BSF personnel intercepted 10 Rohingya migrants, including women and children, who were attempting to cross over to Bangladesh.

Preliminary questioning revealed that they had travelled from Delhi and Jammu and intended to reach Moulvibazar, Bangladesh.

Amid the ongoing festive season, the BSF has heightened its vigil along the Bangladesh border in the entire eastern command, as incidents of illegal infiltration and human trafficking and other trans-border crimes normally escalate.

Last week, Special Director General, BSF (Eastern Command) Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal was on a four-day operational tour to BSF Frontier, Meghalaya, from October 13 to 16 to review the border security architecture and assess operational preparedness along the Indo–Bangladesh International Border.

In Shillong, IG BSF Meghalaya, OP Upadhyay, along with senior frontier officers, had made a comprehensive operational briefing before Aggarwal, outlining the dynamic security scenario along the international border, including challenges posed by rugged terrain, cross-border smuggling, infiltration attempts and emerging transnational threats.

The IG had also highlighted strategic countermeasures undertaken by BSF to strengthen border domination, upgrade technological surveillance systems and enhance tactical mobility of troops.

During the visit, the Special Director General had also toured several Border Outposts (BOPs), halted overnight with troops, and interacted with field commanders and jawans deployed in forward areas.

Later, Aggarwal had also called on Meghalaya Chief MInister Conrad Sangma and Chief Secretary Shakil P Ahammed, for in-depth deliberations on joint security mechanisms, intelligence sharing, and inter-agency synergy to ensure foolproof border management.