BSF apprehends 7 Bangladeshis crossing over illegally in Bengal

Seven Bangladeshis, who illegally entered India with the help of human traffickers, were apprehended from West Bengal's Nadia district on Wednesday, the Border Security Force (BSF) said.

Acting on specific information from villagers of Gajna, personnel of BSF's Eighth Battalion deployed at Border Outpost in Mahendra area in Nadia caught the Bangladeshis, who included two women and a three-year-old child, at around 11.30 a.m. from the Gajna-Tarakpur road where they were waiting for a vehicle, the BSF said.

When the BSF asked them to identify themselves and they could not produce any valid Indian identities or documents, they were detained.

On preliminary questioning, they revealed that they crossed over to India on Tuesday night from an unfenced patch.

They were identified as Sakil Seikh, 30, Md. Rahim, 23, Sumi Aktar, 22, Parul Aktar, 26, Koli Begum, 24, Champa Begum, 26, and three-year-old Yeasin Seikh and a total amount of 2,106 Bangladeshi Taka was recovered from them.

During questioning, the BSF officials learnt that two women were going to Hyderabad and the rest were moving to Chennai for labour work.

It was also revealed that the women going to Hyderabad already had worked there in a house near Secunderabad Bus stand as babysitters, and the persons going to Chennai were to meet a person named Iliyas, who had arranged labour work for them there.

From Bangladesh, the main touts who sent them into India were identified as Kaliq and Kitab Ali Shikdar.

The money for their boarding and lodging was arranged by Barangal, a resident of Secunderabad, and Iliyas of Chennai, and transferred into the account of Jahanara Bibi Mandal, wife of Saukat Ali Mondal.

The bank authorities are being approached for details of transaction, the BSF said.

All seven were handed over to the West Bengal Police.