Cops Foil Infiltration Bid Along India-Bangladesh Border, 1 Apprehended: Assam CM Himanta

Himanta Biswa Sarma said that at least one Bangladeshi national was apprehended.

File Photo of Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma. (ANI)

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Saturday that state police have foiled another attempt at infiltration by Bangladeshi nationals along the international border in the Karimganj district. 

He also said that at least one Bangladeshi national was apprehended. “In a successful pushback of an illegal infiltrator in Karimganj district, one Bangladeshi national was apprehended and sent across the border by @assampolice,” he said in a post on social media platform X.

In a successful pushback of an illegal infiltrator in Karimganj district, one Bangladeshi national was apprehended and sent across the border by @assampolice

Md. Arif

Our personnel are fully alert to thwart such infiltration attempts in the Indo-Bangladesh border. pic.twitter.com/HKpU27QC2r — Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) October 19, 2024

The person apprehended was identified as Md. Arif, and he was arrested by the security forces in the Karimganj district. Following the arrest, police pushed him back to the neighbouring nation.

Speaking on the police action, the Assam CM further stated, “Our personnel are fully alert to thwart such infiltration attempts at the Indo-Bangladesh border.” The security vigilance along the international border with Bangladesh was heightened following the unrest in the neighbouring country.

Earlier, Sarma emphasized that although some of the Bangladeshi infiltrators managed to get Aadhaar cards, they could not enroll themselves in the voter list. “There is no chance that people cross illegally the international border from Bangladesh and get themselves enrolled in the voter list in Assam because we have caught many people who illegally entered Indian territory and they were pushed back within a few hours,” the BJP leader said.

“Most of the infiltrators were arrested in the morning around 5 a.m., and before 9 a.m., they were pushed back to the neighbouring country. In two or three hours, they cannot register themselves on the voter list,” he further stated.

However, the Chief Minister sees no harm in remaining double vigilant in this matter. “We have decided to take a slew of measures against the detection of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh because there might have been possibilities that a few infiltrators could not be arrested by the security personnel,” he added.

CM Sarma underscored that people from Bangladesh come to India due to poverty in the neighbouring country after the recent unrest following the departure of the Sheikh Hasina government. He also claimed that contrary to conventional apprehension, mainly people who belong to the Muslim community have been trying to cross the border and enter India illegally for the sake of jobs.