Friday, 14 June 2013 | Anup Sharma | Guwahati
A recent operation by the Border Security Force (BSF) guarding the Indo-Bangladesh border has once again brought to the fore the fact that the porous border of the country, particularly in the eastern sector, poses a security threat to the entire nation.
Three Bangladeshi nationals, who had entered Indian Territory a long time ago, were nabbed by BSF officials while they were trying to return to Bangladesh to meet their family members.
What is more shocking and worrying is the fact that the BSF officials found some vital Indian documents like the all-important PAN card, Aadhar card, Ration card and even a Class 10 certificate, that had been fraudulently issued in their names, in their possession.
“While one Alauddin Mian (25) was intercepted and arrested from near the unfenced border out post (BOP) at Digaltari in Cooch Behar, West Bengal, two others, Alamin (24) and Mizanoor (18) were intercepted near the Kharija Haridas border in Cooch Behar,” a senior BSF official said, adding that all three hail from Kurigram area in Bangladesh.
“During interrogation Alauddin confessed that he had entered Indian Territory illegally from the unfenced area near Digaltari BOP in Cooch Behar six months ago. He went to Mehrauli in New Delhi where he worked as a carpenter. There he was successful in obtaining a PAN card, an Aadhar card, a Ration card signed by authorities in West Bengal and a school certificate from a school in
Cooch Behar to prove his ‘Indian’ identity.
“While most of these documents had his photographs and are in his name the Aadhar card has his photograph but was in some other person’s name,” the BSF official said.
According to the official, the other two infiltrators also confessed that they entered India through an unfenced area of Kharija Haridas in Cooch Behar to get some pending payment from cattle smugglers in India.
The two men admitted that not only were they involved in cattle smuggling in India, they were into other illegal trades in the country too.
“It is worrying how they manipulated the system and obtained vital documents like the PAN card, the Aadhar card and the Ration card.
There should be a thorough enquiry into this to find out the culprits who have been helping these people to get key Indian identity proofs,” said the official.
It may be mentioned here that the BSF, who had been guarding the Indo-Bangla border in Assam, had arrested several Bangladeshi nationals trying to either infiltrate or exfiltrate to their country after staying in India for an extended period.
India shares a 4,096-km long border with Bangladesh, of which 2,216 kms falls in West Bengal and the rest is in North-Eastern States like Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura. Out of the 4,096 km-long border, 2,980 km is land while the rest of the 1,116 km is riverine border.