The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday arrested 44 people involved in the infiltration and settlement of illegal immigrants across the Indo-Bangladesh border into India.
The central agency, which was assisted by the Border Security Force and state police forces, arrested 21 people from Tripura, 10 from Karnataka, five from Assam, three from West Bengal, two from Tamil Nadu, and one each from Haryana, Telangana, and Puducherry.
Assam Special DGP Harmeet Singh said the wheels of this operation were set in motion when police in Karimganj district, which shares a border with Bangladesh, identified a group of Rohingyas travelling in a train coming from Tripura. He said that upon inquiry, it was found that they were infiltrating into the country through the India-Bangladesh border.
“Enquiries and questioning increased afterwards, and it was found that the illegal migration was being facilitated and run by touts and middlemen. It was found that they are not only here, but also in Bangladesh and different parts of mainland India,” he added.
“In a big blow to human trafficking networks operating across 10 states and union territories, the NIA, in close coordination with the Border Security Force (BSF) and state police forces, conducted a comprehensive operation across multiple states in India on Wednesday morning. The operation aimed at dismantling illegal human trafficking support networks involved in infiltration and settlement of illegal migrants across the Indo-Bangladesh border into India,” the NIA said in a statement.
“Following registration of 4 Human trafficking cases at the NIA branches in Guwahati, Chennai, Bangalore, Jaipur, simultaneous and synchronised raids and searches were carried out at a total of 55locations,” it added.
The raids were conducted in Tripura, Assam, West Bengal, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Haryana, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, and Puducherry.
Reacting to the development, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said, “Pursuing PM Narendra Modi Ji’s vision of a secured Bharat, the NIA has busted five international human trafficking modules. The operation, carried out simultaneously across ten states, resulted in 44 arrests. Congratulations to team NIA. The Modi government will continue with its zero-tolerance approach toward illegal immigration and is committed to shielding the nation from this menace.”
