Altogether 26 Bangladeshi nationals who started their journey from Assam’s Jorhat district with an aim to cross the India-Bangladesh border were stopped near at Bahalpur on National Highway 17 (New) at the entry point of Dhubri district on Sunday.
Police sources said around 7 in the morning during a routine check-up, the 26 Bangladeshi nationals, who had passports and visas, and were travelling in two hired vehicles, were stopped and detained. All were men and though they claimed that they are migrant workers, an official said they were travelling on tourist visas.Both the vehicles have been seized.
The vehicles had a pass but the Jorhat district administration did not communicate with the Dhubri district authorities the inter-district travel.
The deputy commissioner of Dhubri, Anant Lal Gyani, said the matter has been handed over to the police for verification of the passports, documents, visas and the purpose and time of visas. “The matter is under investigation and we will take appropriate action as per rules and norms,” said Gyani. “We are doing their medical check-ups too,” said Gyani and added that all the Bangladeshi nationals are under police custody.
Meanwhile, it was informed by one of the investigating officers that the visas that these Bangladeshi nationals are carrying are tourist visas while they claimed that they came to Assam to work in various sectors of the fishing industry.
They have also revealed before the police that they work as fishermen in Jorhat and other districts of Assam and they borrowed the vehicles from Jorhat’s Kokilamukh Brahmaputra Ghat.
They were travelling to Dhubri, from there they had plans to cross the international border to Bangladesh amid the lockdown, said sources.
The local residents have appreciated the action taken by Dhubri district administration and the police.
The superintendent of police and assistant superintendent of police, Dhubri, could not be contacted. Sub-divisional police pfficer, Bilasipara, B. M. Das, said the Bangladeshis have been quarantined at Chapar.