Kolkata, Feb 3 (IANS) The Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) has arrested four Bangladeshi infiltrators in Darjeeling district of West Bengal, sources said on Friday.
However, instead of any border-point with Bangladesh, they were arrested from the Indo- Nepal border-point at Panitanki in Darjeeling district.
Along with the four illegal Bangladesh infiltrators, two Indian citizens, identified as linkmen, have also been arrested.
It is learnt that the jawans of Battalion 9 of SSB spotted the four Bangladeshi infiltrators near the Panitanki border- point with Nepal. Being suspicious of their movement, the SSB jawans intercepted them and asked for their identity details.
During interrogation, they broke down and admitted to entering India illegally. Proof of their Bangladesh citizenship identity and fake Indian AADHAR cards were recovered from them. However, neither they have any passport nor any valid visa to come to India.
The four have been identified as Md Sohag Miyan, Saiful Islam, Kamrual Husain and Md Monir Husain. The SSB personnel then handed them over to the local Khoribari police station.
They confessed to the police that they were helped by two Indian citizens namely Md Hosain, an original resident of Jalpaiguri district and Md Sipon Sarkar, an original resident of Cooch Behar district. Later, the two were also arrested for assisting these four Bangladeshi infiltrators to enter India and arranging fake AADHAR cards for them.
Meanwhile, an official of the intelligence branch of the state police said that of late the illegal Bangladeshi residents are adopting indirect routes of entering India via Nepal. “Because of the increased patrolling by Border Security Force at the Indo- Bangladesh borders, infiltrating in India through these border points has become more difficult now than before. So, they are adopting this via- Nepal route where the Panitanki border is becoming their choicest entry point,” he said.
–IANS
src/shb/