Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday, January 5, said that 13 foreign nationals who were attempting to enter India illegally were apprehended in the state and pushed back across the border.
The Chief Minister did not disclose details about where the individuals came from or their nationality. Sharing the information on social media platform X, Sarma said the action was taken while respecting what he described as their rights. “We are committed to ensuring the rights of all illegal immigrants, their right to be in their homeland and their right to be pushed back. Respecting their rights, we pushed back 13 immigrants on the other side of the border,” he wrote.
Assam shares a long and sensitive international border with Bangladesh, particularly through the districts of Sribhumi, Cachar, Dhubri and South Salmara Mankachar, which together account for around 267.5 kilometres of the boundary. The state also has an Integrated Check Post at Sutarkandi in Sribhumi district. In the northeast, two other Integrated Check Posts along the India-Bangladesh border are located at Dawki in Meghalaya and Akhaura in Tripura. Another Integrated Check Post in the region is at Darranga in Assam along the India-Bhutan border.
Earlier, Assam Police had said that the state police and the Border Security Force would take all possible measures under the law to prevent illegal entry by non Indian nationals from Bangladesh, especially after political unrest in the neighbouring country last year.
At the same time, authorities had said that Indian passport holders stranded in Bangladesh due to the unrest would be allowed to return to India through designated entry points in Assam.
