Eight Bangladeshi nationals were arrested and their three children detained in Tripura’s Dhalai district on Saturday, police said.
The police identified the arrested people as Mohammad Mamun Sardhar, 29, Ruma Begam, 25, Mohammad Rabin Sardhar, 35, Mohammad Chan Miah Akhon, 35, Mohammad Maharaj Sheikh, 25, Rajib Houladar, 22, Afsana Akhter, 22 and Mohammad Ferdouz, 30.
A court on Sunday sent them to judicial custody till May 18. One of the three children, aged 13, was sent to a child care home and the others, aged five and three, were sent along with their mothers.
The police said that a few of them were arrested at Gandacherra and the rest at Ambassa for intruding into the state through the Indo-Bangladesh border.
“They failed to produce any documents. We are investigating the matter,” said a police officer.
As many as 1,018 people were arrested in different parts of Tripura while illegally crossing the border between January 2023 and last month. They include 498 Bangladeshi citizens, 396 Indian nationals and 124 Rohingya people.
Border detentions have risen in Tripura in recent years. The BSF detained 369 people–59 Rohingya and 160 Indian and 150 Bangladeshi nationals–in 2022. In 2021, 208 people–115 Indian and 93 Bangladeshi nationals–were arrested. While no Rohingya or foreigners other than Bangladeshi nationals were arrested while crossing the border illegally in 2020, 53 Rohingya and one Nigerian were arrested in 2019.