Agartala, May 23, 2025: In a coordinated effort, Tripura Police and the Border Security Force (BSF) detained 16 Bangladeshi nationals from three separate locations across the state on Thursday for allegedly crossing the international border illegally.

The largest group was intercepted near the Manu Border Outpost in the Mohanpur Subdivision of West Tripura district. According to Mohanpur Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mangesh Patari, the BSF detained nine individuals, including two children and two transgender persons.

“They admitted to being Bangladeshi nationals who had crossed the border illegally. They were identified as Santosh Mallick, Elona Mallick, Dipul Sarkar, Sajal Sarkar, Pari Pal, Ritwika Pal, and Ruma Pal. All were produced before the court, and an investigation is underway,” Patari said.

In a separate incident, police in Sepahijala district detained five Bangladeshi nationals in the Madhupur area, acting on a tip-off. Officer-in-Charge of Madhupur Police Station, Debajit Chatterjee, confirmed that the arrests were made early Thursday with assistance from local villagers.

“The group consisted of three men and two women from the Kurigram district of Bangladesh. During initial questioning, one of them, Shahjala Khan, revealed they were headed to Delhi with help from an unknown facilitator,” Chatterjee stated. The detainees have been identified as Manir Khan, Saheba Khatun, Shahjala Khan, Swadhin Khan, and Dulali Khatun.

Meanwhile, two more suspected Bangladeshi nationals were taken into custody in Belonia, South Tripura. Police identified them as Prantosh Chandra Sutradhar and Subha Das. The duo was detained from a local stadium and later presented in court, where authorities sought police remand for further interrogation.

All cases are currently under investigation to determine the circumstances of the border crossings and possible involvement of human trafficking networks.