By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: It is an open fact that Bangladeshi illegal immigrants often make attempts to cross over to India through the Indo Bangla border and the BSF is quite concerned about the menace.
Talking to The Shillong Times here on Sunday, BSF Meghalaya Frontier DIG Mahendra Singh said that the BSF has continuously taken up the matter of Bangladeshi immigrants crossing over to India with their counterparts.
“We often write them letters and they also assure us to keep a check on Bangladeshi immigrants who illegally cross over to Indian territory,” he said.
In the past few months, BSF has detained many Bangladeshi illegal immigrants and smugglers while they make attempts to cross over to India.
On August 9, the BSF troops of Khaliangin West Jaintia Hills on Thursday arrested one Bangladeshi national identified as Md Ali along with three electric detonators and gelatine (neogel) while he was exfiltrating from India to Bangladesh.
Most of Bangladeshi illegal immigrants cross over to India to work in coal rich areas of the State.
Earlier this month, BSF troops of Dawki on Monday apprehended one Bangladeshi national identified as Magbool Ali while he was trying to infiltrate into India from Bangladesh.
In July, BSF troops of Chikenbari in South West Khasi Hills on Monday launched a special operation and seized 6 Kg of Hemp worth Rs. 30,000 while it was being smuggled to Bangladesh.
The BSF official also stressed on the need to properly fence the entire Indo Bangla border to further prohibit the entry of Bangladeshi illegal immigrants into the State since immigrants usually use gaps to cross over to India.
Though, the ministry of Home Affairs has set a 2014 deadline to complete fencing along the India-Bangladesh border, one-third of the border in Meghalaya sector is yet to fenced due to opposition from NGOs and land owners who reside along the International boundary.