Tension along Indo-Bangla border: Infiltration foiled in Cooch Behar
The Statesman | 29 May 2025
Border Security Force (BSF) personnel and West Bengal Police are maintaining heightened vigilance in North Bengal following back-to-back incidents involving Bangladeshi infiltrators. In separate developments, one infiltration bid was thwarted in Sitalkuchi, Cooch Behar, while another Bangladeshi national was arrested from the sensitive Bagdogra Army Camp area, triggering fresh security concerns.
In the first incident, jawans of the 157th BSF Battalion successfully foiled an attempted border crossing by a group of Bangladeshi miscreants near Gate 13 in Sangarbari, Sitalkuchi. According to local sources, a few villagers had gone to their fields on Tuesday morning when they noticed suspicious movement across the border. Moments later, BSF personnel intercepted the infiltrators and prevented their illegal entry into Indian territory. The incident prompted a crowd of local residents to gather at the spot. Police also reached the location soon after and security has since been tightened along the border.
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In another development, a Bangladeshi national was apprehended near the Bagdogra Army Camp — the second such arrest from the same area this month. The accused has been identified as Azizul Islam, a resident of Damilipur in Barisal district, Bangladesh.
According to sources, army personnel on routine patrol found Azizul loitering suspiciously near the army installation. Upon questioning, he reportedly failed to provide valid documents and later confessed to having crossed the India-Bangladesh border illegally. A 10-taka Bangladeshi currency note and a local Bangladeshi newspaper were recovered from him.
Azizul was handed over to Bagdogra police and produced before the Siliguri Sub-Divisional Court on Tuesday. Police officials suspect he entered Indian territory by swimming across a river along the border.
This is the second such incident in recent weeks. On 9 May, another Bangladeshi national, Ashraful Alam, was arrested from the MM Tarai area adjacent to the same army camp. The recurrence of such infiltrations has raised alarm among local residents, especially in the context of strained diplomatic ties between India and Bangladesh following recent India-Pakistan hostilities.
Security agencies have stepped up surveillance and intelligence gathering in sensitive zones across the North Bengal border, with coordinated efforts underway between the BSF and state police to prevent further breaches.