Agartala, September 18: Three Bangladeshi women who allegedly illegal crossed the border without any valid travel documents and entered India and an Indian national suspected of facilitating their entry were detained near Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport in Agartala, police said on Friday.
Airport Police Station Officer-in-Charge Sub-Inspector Shyamal Debnath said police acted on information from a “reliable secret source” that suspected Bangladeshi nationals were moving in the area in front of the airport and might be preparing to board a flight to Guwahati.
“After receiving the information, we reached the spot and found four persons—three female and one male—moving here and there in front of MBB Airport. We stopped them and asked them to produce valid documents, but they failed to produce any,” Debnath said.
During preliminary questioning, the three women allegedly identified themselves as Bangladeshi nationals, while the man said he was an Indian citizen, the officer said.
The women were identified as Shanti Khatun, 23, Sathi Akthar, 26, and Sanjida Khatun. The alleged tout, Mazarul Islam, 24, is a resident of Sepahijala district in Tripura, police said.
Preliminary investigation indicated that the three women were residents of Khulna district in Bangladesh and had allegedly crossed into India through the Sonamura area of Sepahijala district, Debnath said.
“The preliminary inquiry has revealed that Mazarul is a tout and that other unknown associates may also be involved,” he said, adding that the women were allegedly headed towards Guwahati.
Police have not yet established the purpose of their intended journey or the full circumstances surrounding their alleged entry into India.
“The whole matter is under investigation,” Debnath said, and is examining whether an international human trafficking network was involved.
The four were taken to Airport Police Station, where a case was registered. They were subsequently produced before a court at Mohanpur, with police seeking five days’ remand for further interrogation and to trace others allegedly involved in the network, the officer said.
Police are investigating the alleged illegal entry of the women and their planned onward movement to Guwahati, as well as the possible involvement of other facilitators.
Tripura shares an 856-km international border with Bangladesh, much of which is fenced except few small patches. Border infrastructure is also being progressively upgraded with smart-fencing technology.
