24X7 coordinated patrolling by Indo-Bangla border forces to curb crimes, infiltration

Agartala: India’s Border Security Force (BSF) and the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) will do coordinated patrolling and conduct joint watch 24X7 along the borders to curb infiltration, exfiltration, smuggling and hostile activities, officials said on Monday.

A BSF official said that recently the BSF-BGB Inspector General-Region Commander level meeting was held in Shillong and decided to conduct coordinated patrol day and night along the borders to check all kinds of illegal and hostile activities.

During the Shillong meeting, both border guarding forces exchanged the list of criminals involved in trans-border crimes and reached a consensus to take appropriate action against them.

The official said that the nodal officers of both the border guarding forces were in regular contact with each other and sharing information of operational values.

He said that to reinforce border security, the BSF would use thermal imagers, night vision devices, install CCTV cameras and utilise drones.

The official said that floodlights illuminate the area at night and the border fence is being strengthened by employing improvised methods and intruder alarms.

BSF Commanders regularly conduct village coordination meetings to get support of the border population to prevent infiltration and trans-border crimes.

Company Commanders also have ‘Prahari Mitras’ to consult and get help if required, the official added.

Four Indian northeastern states of Tripura (856 km), Meghalaya (443 km), Mizoram (318 km) and Assam (263 km) share a 1,880-km border with Bangladesh.

BSF’s Additional Director General (ADG), Eastern Command Ravi Gandhi accompanied by Tripura Frontier Inspector General Patel Piyush Purushottam Das on Saturday visited various bordering areas and interacted with the local Commanders and other officials.

The ADG directed the field commanders to take all necessary steps to curb the menace of trans-border crime, including illegal migration of Bangladeshi nationals.

There are 43 border villages in Tripura having more than 4,600 people. These villages are highly prone to border crimes from trans-border criminals and challenging in terms of border management.

The BSF during the first six months of the current year (upto June) seized drugs, gold, various contraband and cattle worth of Rs 60.78 crore and apprehend 384 people including 208 Bangladeshi nationals and 16 Rohingyas along the border with Tripura.

Due to rising infiltration from across the border, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha during a recent high-level meeting asked the top BSF and police officials to take appropriate measures to prevent infiltration, smuggling, illegal trade and border crimes.

During the last two months, 108 Bangladeshi nationals and 32 Rohingyas were arrested by Government Railway Police (GRP) and Tripura Police from the Agartala railway station and various bus stations in Tripura after they illegally entered India.

Officials said that all the Bangladeshis and Rohingyas illegally entered Tripura to board trains or buses to go to other states in India “in search of jobs.”