Assam: Five Bangladeshi citizens apprehended for illegal infiltration

Guwahati, May 7 (IANS) At least five Bangladeshi citizens were arrested and later pushed back by security personnel on Tuesday in Assam's South Salmara district on the charges of illegal infiltration.

Taking to X, Chief Minister Sarma wrote: "With an uncompromising stand on illegal infiltration, @SSalmaraPolice and @BSF_India apprehended 5 Bangladeshi nationals attempting unlawful entry and pushed them back on across the border."

He also asserted that Assam Police stays vigilant 24x7 to secure the international borders.

Earlier, the Chief Minister 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.”

Sarma argued that the Hindu community people 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 1,000 Bangladeshi people in the last few months. They were pushed back immediately after their arrest,” said the Chief Minister.

He also attributed the illegal infiltration to incentives offered by a few textile industry owners in India.

--IANS

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