Six Bangladesh nationals — three each in Assam and Meghalaya — were apprehended on Monday for having illegally entered India.

Infiltration attempts by Bangladeshis through the Northeast have increased since the resignation of the Sheikh Hasina-led government in the neighbouring country on August 5 following the turmoil triggered by the anti- job quota agitation led
by students.

Assam police apprehended the trio who had entered India from Tripura and were identified as Md Abu Shaid, Asadul Islam and Md Sarwar hailing from Rajshahi district of Bangladesh, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted.

“One of them was found with an Aadhaar card, having entered India for the second time, all three intended to travel to Chennai for labour work. They have since been pushed back to Bangladesh,” Sarma further said.

On Sunday, the police had pushed back Lipi Akhtar from Dhaka. She had entered Assam’s South Salmara district “on foot” after multiple bus and boat rides spanning over 24 hours.

“After taking shelter at a house in Sukchar, she proceeded to Dhubri by boat where she was intercepted. A manhunt is underway to trace other accomplices/ infiltrators,” Sarma had tweeted on Sunday.

Four Assam districts — South Salmara-Mankachar, Dhubri, Cachar and Karimganj — border Bangladesh.

On Monday night, the BSF also thwarted an infiltration attempt by nabbing three Bangladesh nationals in West Jaintia Hills district of Meghalaya along with three Indian facilitators.

The apprehended persons have been handed over to the concerned police station for further legal action, the BSF said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Amidst the ongoing unrest and deteriorating law and order situation in Bangladesh, BSF Meghalaya has heightened surveillance and intensified border domination along the Indo-Bangladesh border to prevent illegal crossings and ensure national security,” the BSF statement said.

Similarly, 14 Bangladesh nationals along with five Indian facilitators were arrested from three locations in Tripura between Saturday and Sunday. The arrested from West Tripura district on Sunday night included seven transgenders.