GUWAHATI: Assam continues to keep a tight watch on its international frontier, regularly foiling attempts by illegal migrants from Bangladesh to sneak into Indian territory or continue staying in the state unlawfully. In the latest such action, security forces intercepted and pushed back 22 Bangladeshi infiltrators who had tried to cross into India through the border in Cachar district on September 22. Apart from this Assam police also arrested 6 Bangladeshi infiltrators illegally residing in the state and handed over to BSF for further action.
CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said, Our forces remain alert against all anti-national elements who are trying to foment trouble in the State.
The state’s security mechanism has remained in active mode to prevent such activities. In a separate development, Assam Police handed over two convicted Bangladeshi nationals to the Border Security Force (BSF), which subsequently completed the formal handover to the Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) for further necessary action, in line with standard bilateral protocol.
Cattle smuggling by Bangladeshi
Meanwhile, in a separate case that has brought cross-border cattle trafficking back into focus, police in Assam’s Sribhumi district apprehended four Bangladeshi nationals along with an Indian associate on charges of attempting to illegally ferry cattle and buffaloes across the border.
The five were nabbed during a night-time raid conducted in the Badarpur area on Monday, September 21, after police received inputs about suspicious cross-border cattle movement in the region.
Sribhumi Border Police DSP Mukut Kakati personally supervised the operation, working in coordination with Badarpur police station’s officer-in-charge, Manas Pratim Bora.
Officials said the four Bangladeshi nationals were caught in Mahakal village, located in the Badarpur police station area. They have been identified as Rezaul Karim, Sabbir Ahmed, Rachel Ahmed, and Hasan Ahmed Tahim — all reportedly hailing from Zakiganj in Bangladesh’s Sylhet district.
Also picked up was an Indian national, Fazal Uddin, a resident of Jagadishpur village under the Katigorah constituency in Cachar district. Investigators suspect he was working as a local facilitator, helping arrange the movement of the cattle across the border.
Initial findings suggest the accused Bangladeshi nationals had crossed over into Indian territory via the Tukurgram stretch along the India-Bangladesh border, allegedly with the intention of smuggling the livestock back to Bangladesh.
Police have now launched a deeper probe to piece together exactly how the men managed to breach the border, and whether a larger network of handlers and financiers is operating behind the smuggling racket.
Officers are currently interrogating all five detainees to trace their entry route, identify other individuals linked to the trafficking chain, and establish the broader logistics behind the illegal cattle trade.
CM Sarma further said, warning that whether across the border or within, we will hunt down every illegal and ensure appropriate action is taken to secure our State.
