A total of 14 Bangladeshi infiltrators were apprehended by the Railway Protection Force (RPF) in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district on the New Delhi-bound North-East Express train. The arrests took place at Jalpaiguri Road Station, with five women and four minors among those detained. Authorities confiscated counterfeit Indian identity documents like Aadhaar cards, PAN cards, Indian mobile SIM cards, and Malaysian Ringgit from the individuals.
The state is gearing up for a two-phase Assembly election later this month, raising concerns about the intentions of these infiltrators who entered India through Assam’s international borders and were en route to the national capital via West Bengal. The RPF has initiated an inquiry into the incident to ascertain the motives behind their illegal entry and travel plans to Delhi.
During preliminary questioning, the detained individuals disclosed that they used fake documents to cross the Assam border into India before heading towards New Delhi. Authorities are now investigating the reasons behind their unlawful entry and their intended destination in Delhi. Questions have been raised regarding the ease with which these individuals managed to enter India, particularly amidst heightened security measures due to ongoing Assembly elections in West Bengal and Assam.
The illegal entry of 14 Bangladeshi nationals into India has sparked political debates ahead of the polls, particularly in West Bengal where illegal immigration is a key issue. The situation has triggered a political clash in the state, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accusing the Trinamool Congress and the state government of aiding these illegal Bangladeshi migrants to influence the minority vote bank. In response, the Trinamool Congress has emphasized that border security falls under the purview of the Border Security Force (BSF), a responsibility of the Union Home Ministry, absolving the state government of involvement in such illegal activities.
