| Agartala |
Updated: May 8, 2020 5:11:53 pm
They were arrested from Rajnagar area of Joypur, close to the Indo-Bangla border. (File Photo)
Out of work since the lockdown was enforced to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, ten Bangladeshi nationals, who entered the country illegally, were arrested near the Indo-Bangla border in Agartala city on Friday while trying to go back.
The workers were arrested from Rajnagar area of Joypur, close to the Indo-Bangla border. They had crossed the international border with the help of some passing-agent seven months ago.
“We came 7 months back to work as daily wagers. We stayed at Bitterban slum here. There is no work these days due to lockdown. So, we were going back to Bangladesh”, Md. Masud Rana, one of the arrested Bangladshi citizens told reporters.
Speaking to indianexpress.com, Director General of Tripura Police Rajiv Singh said it has been ascertained during investigation they had indeed come 6-7 months back inside the Indian territory. They would be produced before the court as per protocol.
Earlier this week, the Border Security Force (BSF) had claimed that border smuggling and infiltration has come down nearly to nil during the lockdown.
Even as the BSF reduced its staffing in view of recent outbreak of COVID-19 in two of its battalion headquarters, Tripura State Rifles (TSR) and Tripura Police personnel were deployed as second line of defense near the borders to boost the vigil.
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