Agartala, March 31: With Tripura gearing up for the crucial TTAADC elections scheduled on April 12, illegal infiltration has once again come into sharp focus after four Bangladeshi nationals were detained from the Mahadevtilla tri-junction area in Khowai district.
Acting on specific intelligence inputs, a special police team led by the Superintendent of Police of Khowai launched an operation and intercepted a tomtom (auto-rickshaw) suspected of carrying illegal entrants.
The vehicle, which was reportedly heading from Khowai towards Teliamura, was stopped at the Mahadevtilla tri-junction where police had laid a trap based on prior information.
Upon interception, the occupants were subjected to search and questioning. During preliminary interrogation, the detained individuals admitted that they were residents of Moulvibazar district in Bangladesh.
They were identified as Abdul Mia, Shyamal Mia, Halal Mia, and Abdul Majid Sohag. As they failed to produce any valid travel documents, including passports, they were taken into custody and shifted to Khowai Police Station.
Providing details of the operation, Officer-in-Charge of Khowai Police Station, Inspector Krishnadhan Sarkar, said that the information was initially received through civil teams operating under the district headquarters regarding possible infiltration through suspected routes.
“Based on the inputs, civil teams kept surveillance and noticed suspicious movement. The individuals were intercepted and questioned, and their responses indicated they were not locals. Subsequently, police teams reached the spot and detained four individuals in coordination with the civil teams,” he said.
He further informed that verification confirmed the identities of the detainees, with one reported to be from Nabiganj and the others from Moulvibazar district of Bangladesh. None of them possessed valid travel documents.
“A formal case is being registered. We are also examining whether there is any organised network involved behind their movement. The detainees will be produced before the appropriate authorities,” Sarkar added.
Police have intensified interrogation to ascertain the intention of their entry and whether they were part of a larger trafficking or infiltration network operating across the border.
The incident comes at a time when infiltration remains a politically sensitive issue in Tripura, especially in the run-up to the TTAADC elections.
The state shares an 856-kilometre-long international border with Bangladesh on three sides. Despite significant fencing, illegal crossings, including those involving Bangladeshi nationals and Rohingya, continue to pose security and administrative challenges.
