Agartala: All major news outlets in Tripura almost every day have one common story—and that is about the detention of either Bangladeshi immigrants or Rohingyas who crossed the borders unlawfully. The primary reason for the mass influx of Bangladeshi nationals is stated to be the financial condition of the neighbouring country, which is now in the clutches of political turmoil. The 856-kilometre-long Bangladeshi border, with unfenced stretches in certain locations, has emerged as a hotspot for cross-border human trafficking.
A senior official in the Tripura Police department revealed that the Bangladeshis are essentially entering Tripura through five to six locations across the state. The most sensitive part of the border falls in Tripura’s Sepahijala district, which is also infamous for smuggling activities. In South Tripura, the borders are equally vulnerable. The remaining locations are Khowai, Kailashahar in Unakoti district, and the hilly terrain in Dhalai district, which was once used by armed militants for operations.
According to sources in the security forces, the Bangladeshi nationals enter Tripura with the help of some local agents who are now being officially called the “border touts.”
Who are Border Touts and How They Operate
The border touts are a class of agents who extend logistical support to the Bangladeshi nationals entering India. They are essentially residents of the bordering areas and are well aware of the BSF’s movement, strength, and patrolling timings at strategic points. Because of their prior knowledge, they can easily manipulate the time and help immigrants cross the borders smoothly. Once they enter, they are readily shifted to transit points like bus stands and railway stations.
“The Bangladeshi nationals don’t enter Tripura for a long stopover. They look for greener pastures—some densely populated city or slum area where hiding identity is easier. They stay in Tripura hardly for a night, and the first train or bus they get after entering Tripura, they board it. In trains, they travel in general compartments in order to avoid unwanted security and ID checks. Buses generally don’t ask for identity cards, so it is a better option. All these are arranged by none other than the border touts who facilitate their entry into Tripura,” a highly placed official in the BSF’s (G) branch told EastMojo.
In a coordinated raid, the National Investigation Agency arrested as many as 25 people from different bordering locations of Tripura at the fag end of 2023. But unfortunately, nothing has changed. The arrested border touts have been replaced by a new nexus who were second-in-command in the rackets. Tripura Police had also initiated multiple operations to arrest border touts. Police sources confirmed that border touts are not operating in personal capacities, but are part of an organized racket with a strong presence in areas used as illegal entry points to Tripura.
Why Bangladeshi Nationals are Coming
One common story that all the Bangladeshi immigrants tell the police is the economic distress and poor welfare schemes of the neighbouring country, prompting them to shift—and Indian cities are the best place to shift to.
Hasna Hena (26), a Bangladeshi woman who was detained at Agartala Railway Station, informed the police that she and her two accomplices, Kulsom Begum and Swapna Akter, had arrived in India from Bangladesh in search of work.
They were forced by economic distress to take action. They were promised by an agent in Bangladesh that they would get jobs here. They were eager to get jobs in beauty parlours, work as domestic help, etc. Police said that they had encountered some instances when these gullible, innocent girls were forced into prostitution and were left with no means to return home.
Some immigrants cross the borders to get married as well. A Hindu Bangladeshi woman was arrested in October 2023, days after marrying a man from Tripura’s Kadamtala. The woman was identified as Joni Rani Das. Originally hailing from Moulvibazar district of Bangladesh, she married Sudhangshu Das of Kadamtala. A similar case was reported in the same month when 24-year-old woman Fatema Nusrat was detained after she crossed the border to marry her lover Nur Jalal, a self-styled practicing Kabiraj (traditional healer).
The male Bangladeshi nationals who enter Tripura essentially come in search of work at construction sites and for petty jobs in big cities like Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore, and Mumbai.
Some people who are already settled in those cities help their relatives and friends get jobs using their contacts. However, security forces are also apprehensive of radical forces.
“Such influx of immigrants should not be taken lightly by any security agency. You never know who is moving inside in the guise of an innocent person seeking jobs,” a senior official of the BSF cautioned.
The Process of Prosecution
The new Immigration Bill has proposed stringent measures against immigration. The term of imprisonment is also enhanced substantially. Otherwise, Bangladeshis who had been detained by police were arrested, and after a trial, they were sentenced to imprisonment for a term of a few months. Once the trial is complete, they are deported to Bangladesh following the order of the court.
Elaborating further on the issue, criminal lawyer Pujan Biswas said, “The process is simple. When a Bangladeshi national is arrested, he is produced before the court. Once they are produced before the court, a local grantor is arranged for bail. And after the trial, they are deported. As long as the trial is conducted, the Bangladeshi national is free to stay in India.”
Biswas also said that the Bangladeshi national accused of entry can only be deported after serving the sentence in Tripura Jail under the relevant sections of the Indian Foreigner Act and Passport Act.
According to data from the BSF, 29 Bangladeshi nationals had been deported to Bangladesh between January 2024 and February 2025. As many as five Indian nationals had also been deported in the same timeline, the data added.
But the number of immigrants who had been detained in the same time frame is much higher. In 2024, 620 Bangladeshi nationals, 260 Indian nationals, and 55 Rohingya migrants had been arrested.
This article has been published as part of the Impulse Model Press Lab.
Also Read: Lamka: A town once welcoming, now stretched by waves of displacement