Amid heightened security along the India-Bangladesh border due to ongoing Indo-Pak tensions, as many as 11 Bangladeshi nationals were apprehended by alert locals in Sabroom on Friday and subsequently handed over to the Border Security Force (BSF) and local police.
The group, comprising three men, four women, and four minor children, was found hiding in an abandoned house belonging to one Dhananjay Debnath in the Krishnanagar Gram Panchayat area under the Poangbari block of Sabroom subdivision.
Local residents became suspicious after noticing unusual movement near the abandoned property. Upon confirming the group’s presence, they surrounded the house and immediately informed the BSF and police. Initial investigations suggest that the group had been traveling from Gujarat and had reached Sabroom with the intention of illegally crossing the international border into Bangladesh.
The detained individuals have been identified as Mohammad Icha Sheikh, Lima Begum, Monir Shikdar, Munia Shikdar, Nasrin Begum, Ashed Sheikh, Rahim Mirda, Seema Begum, Arafat Sheikh, and Rahul Mirda. Authorities are now probing the circumstances and network behind their unauthorized entry into India and their journey across multiple states.
In a separate incident, Tripura Police arrested another Bangladeshi national, Litan Miah, from the Lichu Bagan area of Agartala. According to officials at the New Capital Complex Police Station, he was seen wandering suspiciously and, upon interrogation, admitted to entering India without valid travel documents.
He was produced before the court on Friday. These back-to-back detentions have raised serious concerns about border security lapses, especially during a period of intensified Indo-Pak tensions when vigilance is expected to be at its highest.
