BSF stops 250 Bangladesh nationals from entering Tripura

India's Border Security Force (BSF) prevented around 250 Bangladesh nationals from entering Tripura on Saturday, police said.

"Around 250 people, including women and children, tried to enter India's western Tripura today (Saturday) morning, but the BSF thwarted their attempt," Khowai district police chief Jayanta Chakraborty told IANS over phone.

He said: "Bangladesh forest guards destroyed the homes of these people and evicted them from forest lands at Chunarughat (under Habiganj district in eastern Bangladesh) late Friday. These people belonging to Hindu tribal groups took shelter along the Indian border."

The police officials said that due to border fencing and alertness of the BSF troopers, the Bangladeshis could not enter Tripura's Champahowar village (under Khowai district), around 100 km west of Agartala.

BSF sources said that they have communicated the matter to Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) and a flag meeting between the senior officials of the two forces is likely to be held late Saturday to take back the evicted tribals.

Meanwhile, Union Home Ministry's Border Management Secretary Susheel Kumar, who arrived here on Friday on a three-day visit to Tripura, held a meeting with Tripura Chief Secretary Yashpal Singh, senior officials of the BSF, District Magistrates and Collectors of different bordering districts besides senior state government officials to review the various aspects of the India-Bangladesh border.

Tripura shares a 856-km border with Bangladesh. However, most parts of the frontier are mountainous and riverine.

Except 90 km, most parts of the Tripura frontier have been fenced to check trans-border movement of terrorists and prevent infiltration and cross-border crimes.

--IANS

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