A 21-year-old Bangladeshi woman who had infiltrated into India to meet her boyfriend on Saturday evening was intercepted by the Border Security Force and handed over to the police.

Police arrested her and produced her at a court in Cooch Behar district on Sunday. The woman has been sent to judicial custody for 14 days.

Sources said the woman, who hails from Bogura district of the neighbouring country, got acquainted with a youth who is from Tufanganj of Cooch Behar over phone.

“We got introduced around six months back over the phone and would talk with each other regularly. We have not met so far and recently, my parents planned my marriage with another person. That is why I left my home last Thursday and crossed the borders yesterday to meet him. I have his details with me and want to marry him,” said the girl.

On Saturday evening, while the BSF personnel were patrolling the India-Bangladesh border near the Durganagar border outpost of Dinhata subdivision, they spotted the girl and intercepted her.

After preliminary interrogation, she was handed over to the police at Sahebganj police station.

“Today, the police produced her at the court in Dinhata. The court heard the case, rejected her bail petition and ordered 14 days’ judicial custody,” said Sangram Deb, a government lawyer.

The youth, who is from Tufanganj, is yet to be traced.

Arrests

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) of Calcutta conducted a joint raid with the BSF on Saturday and arrested Aladu alias Mathur Sheikh, a resident of Haruchak village in Mozampur area under Kaliachak police station of Malda district.

Sources said Sheikh was wanted by the NIA after his name was revealed as a major player in circulation of fake Indian currency notes (FICN) Asim Sarkar, who is from Pilibhit district of Uttar Pradesh.

In September 2019, Sarkar was arrested from Jhaljhalia area of Malda town by a team of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence with FICN of around 1.99 lakhs.

“Sheikh was Sarkar’s accomplice in FICN peddling. Searches were on to trace him and finally, during the joint raid by the NIA and BSF, he was arrested,” said a source in BSF.

In another case, troops of the 61 battalion of BSF posted at Bhimpur border outpost in South Dinajpur district intercepted Iti Roy, an Indian woman smuggler who is from Srikrishnapur village under Hilli police station on Saturday while she was trying to cross the Indo-Bangla border with some cough syrups. She has been handed over to the police.

Also, the BSF has carried out anti-smuggling drives in various locations under the north Bengal frontier from Thursday to Sunday and have seized contraband items including cannabis, cough syrups and cattle worth 8.18 lakhs.

Additional reporting by Soumya De Sarkar in Malda