5 Bangladeshis held in Meghalaya, were supposed to travel to Chennai for work

SHILLONG — Five Bangladeshi nationals were apprehended in Meghalaya's East Jaintia Hills district for entering India illegally, the BSF said on Thursday.

The illegal immigrants confessed to entering India through the porous hilly terrain of Meghalaya. They crossed a broken border fence and had paid an agent to facilitate their travel to Chennai for work, it said.

They possessed forged Aadhaar cards and voter ID cards, and one of them had even stayed in India for nearly a year and spoke multiple Indian languages, it added.

The 172 Battalion of the BSF's Meghalaya Frontier nabbed them, two men, two women and a girl, on Wednesday, on the basis of a tip-off. The group was found hiding in dense undergrowth and promptly detained.

"This swift and coordinated action not only prevented a potential security breach but also highlights the alertness and professionalism of BSF personnel in securing the border," a spokesperson of the force said.

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The illegal immigrants were handed over to the police, he said.

In a separate incident, members of the Hynniewtrep Youth Council (HYC) "apprehended" four Bangladesh nationals near Shella in East Khasi Hills district and handed them over to the BSF.

In a statement, it said the four persons, including two women, were intercepted at Jatap village when they were travelling in a vehicle, driven by a non-native.

They admitted to having entered India illegally from Bangladesh on the night of July 23, it claimed.