3 illegal Bangladeshi migrants nabbed at Nadia border while trying to re-enter India

Three Bangladeshi nationals — identified as Rupa Begum, Muhammad Alam, and Manira Sheikh — were arrested late Saturday night by West Bengal Police while attempting to re-enter India illegally through the Dhantala border in Nadia district. The arrests were made based on local intelligence inputs, as the trio reached a village near the international border from where they had initially entered India four months ago.

According to police sources, the three individuals are originally from the Jhenaidah district in Bangladesh. They had entered India illegally around four months ago with the help of a local agent. The agent allegedly assisted them in crossing the international border and also arranged fake Indian identity documents for them. After entering the country, they moved to another Indian state, where they took up small jobs to sustain themselves.

Officials stated that the three were trying to return to Bangladesh amid increased crackdowns across different Indian states targeting undocumented foreign nationals. They had travelled back to the border area and were preparing to cross when they were apprehended by the police. The arrest took place in a border village near Dhantala, an area known for frequent cross-border movement due to its proximity to the international boundary.

The arrested individuals were produced before a local court on Sunday and were remanded to police custody for further investigation. A district police officer said that several such arrests have been made in recent times, mostly involving individuals attempting to return to Bangladesh after staying in India for extended periods. Police have initiated a search operation to trace the local agent who facilitated the illegal entry and provided forged documents to the accused.