150 Bangladeshi infiltrators arrested at WB border

At least 150 Bangladeshi nationals were arrested by the Border Security Force (BSF) personnel on Friday while infiltrating into Indian territory through the West Bengal border.

"We have apprehended about 150 Bangladeshi nationals, including 17 women and 13 children. They were caught in three different batches at Mangalchandi near Sundarbans in South 24-Parganas district," Deputy Inspector General of BSF (south Bengal area) Bikash Chandra told IANS in Kolkata.

He said the infiltrators were coming from the Bangladesh side to the Indian area by boats, crossing the Raymangal River on Friday morning.

"They have now been remanded in the BSF custody at Yogeshgange area in the district. We have sent our senior officials there to interrogate them," Chandra said.

India and Bangladesh share a 4,096-km (2,544-mile) frontier, including 1,150.62 km in the southern parts of the state, of which 783.26 km is land and 367.34 km riverine boundary.

BSF sources said there has been no clue, so far, that the infiltrators were carrying smuggled goods from Bangladesh. They were coming with their families to settle down in India.