Acting on a tip-off, troops of the 148 battalion of the Border Security Force (BSF) carried out a special operation in Changrabandha of Cooch Behar district on Monday and intercepted seven Bangladeshi residents who allegedly entered India illegally.

Those arrested include three women, three minors and a man. “The seven persons had infiltrated India from Bangladesh and had taken a bus to reach Siliguri. They had also made plans to reach Jaipur (in Rajasthan) from Siliguri to earn their livelihood,” said a BSF cource.

“All of them have been handed over to the police at the Mekhliganj police station,” the source said.

The BSF also carried out anti-smuggling drives along the India-Bangladesh border of north Bengal frontier on Sunday and Monday and seized various contraband items worth Rs 2.92 lakh, including cattle and cough syrup bottles.