16 Rohingyas arrested in Tripura for illegally entering India

Agartala: At least 16 Rohingyas, including seven women, were arrested in Tripura for allegedly entering India from Bangladesh without valid documents, police said.

Acting on a tip-off, police apprehended 11 suspected Rohingyas at Dharmangar Inter State Bus Terminal (ISBT) in North Tripura district on Thursday evening, Dharmanagar police station OC Himadri Sarkar said.

"During interrogation, it was found that the 11 people had crossed the international border from a Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh and were awaiting transportation to Guwahati by bus. We arrested them and presented them before a local court," Sarkar told PTI over the phone. Seven juveniles were also detained for illegally entering Indian territory, he added.

In a separate incident in North Tripura's Churaibari area earlier during the day, police intercepted a Guwahati-bound bus and requested passengers to verify their identities. Five Rohingyas among them failed to produce nationality proof, a senior officer said.

"They were detained initially for questioning. During interrogation, the five admitted to coming from a camp in Bangladesh and planning to travel to Hyderabad via Guwahati," said Pritimoy Chakma, second officer-in-charge at Churabari police station. They had crossed the international border through Boxangar in Tripura's Sepahijala district, Chakma added.

In response to multiple infiltration cases, Chief Minister Manik Saha had convened a high-level meeting with security agencies on Thursday. "I met with the BSF and other agencies to address issues related to human trafficking, smuggling, and other border crimes. We've instructed them to take stringent measures to halt illegal activities along the India-Bangladesh border. The state government will provide full support for these efforts," Saha stated in a social media post.