India has handed as many as 577 Bangladeshi intruders to the neighbouring country since 2018, news agency IANS reported.
Of these 577 Bangladeshi intruders, there were women, children and men belonging to the villages located near to the borders. All the 577 intruders were handed over to Bangladesh between January 1, 2018 and May 21 this year.
The report stated also stated this year over 100 people have returned to their country. As many as 129 Bangladeshis were held by the BSF this year till May 2.
Officials in the Border Security Force (BSF) were quoted as saying in the IANS report that these intruders were caught and handed over to the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) — the border guarding force of the neighbouring country, which shares 4,096 km borders with India.
As the India-Bangladesh border is considered to be the most peaceful International Border, both countries ensure to maintain their relations, and such goodwill gestures are shown from both sides during the flag meetings of the border guarding forces of the two nations, the report stated.
According to the report, these illegal infiltrators primarily sneak into the Indian territory by crossing the International Boundary (IB) in search of jobs.
The villagers could sneak into the Indian territory, as most portions of the India-Bangladesh border, the fifth-longest land border in the world, are porous, it added.
The India-Bangladesh border connects 262 km in Assam, 856 km in Tripura, 318 km in Mizoram, 443 km in Meghalaya, and 2,217 km in West Bengal.
As per the data, 480 of these intruders had entered into the Indian territory through West Bengal, 71 through Tripura, 18 via Meghalaya and eight through Assam.
1 and were handed over to the BGB. Of these, 116 had entered into India through West Bengal, nine via Tripura, three through Meghalaya and one through Assam.
The figures this year so far indicate that illegal entry may touch or cross the maximum of 262 illegal infiltrations noted in 2018.
In 2020, 116 Bangladeshis were caught and handed over to the BGB. Of them, 91 had entered through West Bengal, 17 through Tripura, five via Assam and three through Meghalaya.
In 2019, 70 intruders were held and handed over to Bangladesh, the lowest. Of these, 38 illegal entries were noted through West Bengal, 19 via Tripura, 12 through Meghalaya and one through Assam.
A total of 262 Bangladeshis were returned to their country in 2018, the highest so far. Of them, 235 had entered into the Indian territory through West Bengal, 26 through Tripura, and one through Assam.
