Twenty three people from Bangladesh, including women and children, were arrested for entering Tripura illegally here on Wednesday.
Police arrested them from the motor stand area in remote Gandachera town in Dhalai district.
The infiltrators entered into the Indian territory through Gandachera, which is mostly hilly and unfenced. Gandachera is around 170 km from capital Agartala and located opposite to Chittagong Hills Track in Bangladesh.
All of those arrested are tribals of the Tripuri and Chakma community and residents of Panchari area in the CHT. The arrested persons said that they had crossed the boder seeking a Hindu saint.
One of the arrested Bangladeshi Monindra Tripura said, "All total we are 43 and had crossed the border through the portion where there was no fencing or border guards. We entered in the early morning through Boalkhali area and had come for treatment. Others had gone to their relatives houses. We do not possess any valid document."
Meanwhile, another arrested Bangladeshi, Prajendra Tripura, said that they come seeking blessings of Goddess Kali.
"We had come to the Maa Bari (Kali temple) for treatment and crossed the border hoping that our problems will be solved with the blessing of the goddess Kali but landed in problem as do not possess passport," he said.
The detained individuals were later produced at a local court, which sentenced them to imprisonment till March 8.
Gandachera Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Bhaskar Dasgupta, said that future course of action wpuld be decided after the hearing on March 8, when the police would produce the victims before the court along with chargesheet.
"There have been some illegal entries of 23 numbers of Bangladeshi people. They were arrested by the Gandacherra police and produced before the sub-divisional judicial magistrate Gandacherra. They were sentenced to jail till the 8th of March and the juvenile cases were send to Agartala and after that on 8th there will be hearing and the police will be finalizing the charge sheet and will be producing it by today only," said Dasgupta.
Police at present is in hunt of others who had crossed the border and took refuge in their relative's houses.
Meanwhile, BSF officials would take-up the matter with their counterparts in Bangladesh, so that the procedure to sent back detained persons, after completion of their jail term and necessary proceedings, can be discussed.