Apprehension of people illegally crossing the India-Bangladesh border in South Bengal has dropped in 2023, but there has been a spike in smuggling of gold and Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) along the same border. According to the South Bengal Frontier of the Border Security Force (BSF), 2,345 persons were apprehended for illegally crossing the border between January to November 2023.
Among those apprehended during the year include 1,410 Bangladesh nationals, 864 Indian citizens and 61 Rohingyas.
The BSF officials said that the apprehensions had marginally dropped compared to the last year when 2,966 persons were apprehended during the entire year of 2022. Last year, border guarding forces had apprehended 1,951 Bangladeshi nationals, 936 Indian citizens and 79 Rohingyas.
“Apprehension of people involved in illegal infiltration has come down but not drastically. The rackets involved in illegal infiltration and human trafficking are still active along both sides. However, this year we have arrested 46 touts or agents involved in smuggling,” A.K. Arya, DIG and Public Relation Officer of South Bengal Frontier of the BSF told The Hindu. Mr. Arya added that this year the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of the BSF had rescued two Bangladeshi and one Indian woman from the clutches of human traffickers.
While there has been a drop in apprehension of people illegally trying to cross the border, the seizure of gold being smuggled has increased by 50%. In the year 2022, the South Bengal Frontier seized about 114 kilogram of gold while so far the border guarding forces have seized about 156 kg of gold. Similarly, the FICN seized along the frontier had increased from fake currency valuing 3.33 lakh in 2022 to fake currency valuing ₹15.86 lakh till November 2023.
The seizure of cattle has almost remained the same with 1,203 cattle heads seized till November 2023, whereas 1,175 cattle heads were seized last year. There has also been a decline in the seizure Phensedyl cough syrup from 2.52 lakh bottles bottles intercepted in 2022 to 1.22 lakh bottles seized this year so far. The seizure of narcotics and Yaba tablets have also come down, BSF officials said.
From January to November 2023, the BSF troops of South Bengal Frontier also had apprehended a total of 641 persons allegedly involved in smuggling, out of which 183 were Bangladeshi and 458 were citizens of India. The BSF officials said that the challenges of preventing illegal infiltration and smuggling along the South Bengal Frontier is that the border is unfenced, and more than 60 of its border villages are situated on the international border, which helps touts in illegal infiltration and smuggling.
The South Bengal Frontier of BSF guards the Indo-Bangla border from the Bay of Bengal in the south to the northern part of Malda district. The frontier is one of the most strategically important border areas under the purview of the Eastern Command of BSF, securing 913 km of the total 4,096 km of international border with Bangladesh. About 364 kilometres of riverine border including the vast area of chars - land formed in the midst of rivers and other water bodies.
