New Delhi, June 13 (TIWN): In a gesture of mutual cooperation and emphasis on the well-being of the border populations of both the countries, India has handed as many as 577 Bangladeshi intruders to the neighbouring country since 2018, and the numbers this year have been quite good in the first five months, with over 100 people returned to their country.

Officials in the Border Security Force (BSF) said these intruders were caught and handed over to the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) — the border guarding force of the neighbouring country, which shares 4,096 km borders with India.  As the India-Bangladesh border is considered to be the most peaceful International Border, both the countries ensure to maintain their relations and such good will gestures are shown from both sides during the flag meetings of the border guarding forces of the two nations.  Of these 577 Bangladeshi intruders, there were women, children and men belonging to the villages located near to the borders.  Most of the times, these illegal infiltrators sneaked into the Indian territory by crossing the International Boundary (IB) in search of jobs. 

The villagers could sneak into the Indian territory, as most portions of the India-Bangladesh border, the fifth-longest land border in the world, are porous.  The India-Bangladesh border connects 262 km in Assam, 856 km in Tripura, 318 km in Mizoram, 443 km in Meghalaya, and 2,217 km in West Bengal.  As per the data, 480 of these intruders had entered into the Indian territory through West Bengal, 71 through Tripura, 18 via Meghalaya and eight through Assam.  All the 577 intruders were handed over to Bangladesh between January 1, 2018 and May 21 this year.  As many as 129 Bangladeshis were held by the BSF this year till May 21 and were handed over to the BGB. Of these, 116 had entered into India through West Bengal, nine via Tripura, three through Meghalaya and one through Assam.  The figures this year so far indicate that illegal entry may touch or cross the maximum of 262 illegal infiltrations noted in 2018.