13 Bangladeshis arrested in Tripura

Agartala, June 22 (IANS) Thirteen Bangladesh nationals, including three women, have been arrested by the railway police for illegally entering India via the border in Tripura, police said Friday.

They were Friday sent to jail for 14 days by a local court.

"Looking for jobs, they might have crossed over to western Tripura Thursday night. They attempted to leave for New Delhi and other northern Indian states via Guwahati when they were arrested at Teliamura railway station by the railway police," said a Tripura Police spokesman.

Police officials were interrogating them and they would be sent back to Bangladesh after the completion of legal formalities and the jail term, the spokesman said.

The Bangladeshis were from the Habiganj district in the country's eastern region, the official said.

Tripura shares 856 km long border with Bangladesh and the mountainous terrain and dense forests make the unfenced borders porous.

According to an official document, since 1974, around 1,86,500 Bangladeshis have been sent back after their detention in Tripura.