Tripura Railway Police detained 434 illegal immigrants in last 1.5 years: GRP SP

Agartala (Tripura) [India], July 2 (ANI): Tripura Railway Police in the last 1.5 years detained as many as 434 illegal immigrants on the move from different railway stations and running trains. The official further explained that illegal immigrants are basically of two types--Bangladeshi Nationals and Rohingya migrants.
Speaking exclusively to ANI, SP Government Railway Police (GRP) Amitabha Paul said, "In 2023, GRP officials posted at six police stations across the state arrested 294 illegal immigrants out of which 76 were Rohingyas while the rest of the others were Bangladeshi nationals. In the current year, 140 illegal immigrants have been arrested so far out of whom only three persons are identified to be Rohingyas."
The police crackdown wasn't only confined to Bangladeshi nationals alone as a substantial number of border touts who facilitated the illegal immigration were also arrested.
"Last year, as many as 51 Indian border touts were arrested and this year the number stands at 26 so far. Last year, the number of cases filed in connection with the detentions stood at 75 and this year the number of cases stands at 28. Hence the total cases now stand at 103," Paul informed ANI.
Paul said that illegal immigrants use Tripura as a corridor and travel to metro cities on being asked about the reason behind such an influx.
He said, "According to the testimonies of the arrested persons, they generally cross the borders in search of work. They use Tripura as a corridor and travel to metro cities. They indulge themselves in different kinds of petty jobs such as rag picking, masonry, and construction work to earn money. In some cases, they have their relatives working in big cities who help them in settling down in the initial stage."
Apart from the crackdown against illegal immigrants, the GRP unit of Tripura has also seized substantial quantities of illicit drugs.
"In 2023, we arrested 239 drug peddlers and registered 86 cases against them. In 2024 150 drug peddlers were arrested already. The number of cases this year is 63. More than 2,300 Kgs of Ganja, 8,000 bottles of banned cough syrup, and 314 grams of heroin were seized. Recently, three persons were arrested under the Arms Act for carrying a pistol on the train," he added. (ANI)