At least two Bangladeshi nationals were arrested and subsequently pushed back for allegedly crossing the international border and illegally entering Indian territory, said Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday.
He said that the infiltration attempt was foiled by security personnel in the state’s Sribhumi district.
Taking to X, Sarma wrote, “Border Vigilance at its Best! In a bold move by @sribhumipolice, two Bangladeshi nationals Arif Rahman and Md. Shahid were caught attempting to illegally cross the border. With strict vigilance in place, they were swiftly apprehended and pushed back across the border.”
The CM said, “We have put the security forces on high alert at the international border following the unrest in Bangladesh to check infiltration. The police have detected a good number of illegal immigrants on a daily basis along the international border; however, no Hindu infiltrator from Bangladesh was arrested in the last five months.”
The Chief Minister argued that the Hindu community people have immigrated from Bangladesh 30 or 40 years ago, and the rest of the people have been living in the neighbouring country for different reasons.
“Most of the Hindu community people who had the desire to cross the border and come to India had come here 30 or 40 years ago. The rest of the minority people have been living in Bangladesh despite facing large-scale atrocities in the neighbouring country. I guess they have their own reasons for staying there—maybe a love for the soil or patriotism towards Bangladesh,” he said.
Sarma also stated that the Bangladeshi infiltration spiked up in the last few months due to the collapse of the textile industry in the neighbouring country, leaving many jobless there.
He stated that the economy of Bangladesh has collapsed due to unrest, and the majority of the community people were more affected than the minority section.
“So far, we have arrested around 1000 Bangladeshi people in the last few months. They were pushed back immediately after their arrest,” the CM mentioned.
He also attributed the illegal infiltration to incentives offered by a few textile industry owners in India.
