The political unrest and the alleged atrocities on minorities in Bangladesh have prompted the Indian railways to beef up security at railway stations in north Bengal and the Northeast to prevent infiltration of people from the neighbouring nation.

A senior official of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) posted in the Malda Town station, the second major railway station in north Bengal after New Jalpaiguri, said specific instructions had come from senior officials to search any passenger and his or her belongings if their activities were found suspicious.

“The order has been made because of the turmoil in Bangladesh. We are checking the identity proofs of passengers at the station. Also, special checkings are being carried out on long-distance trains,” he said.

In November, 23 Bangladeshi nationals who had infiltrated into India were arrested from different railway stations in the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) zone that covers the entire Northeast and most parts of north Bengal.

Sources in the RPF said there were intelligence inputs that militant outfits based in Bangladesh could resort to nefarious activities at the railway stations.

“It has also been found that a section of Bangladeshi nationals who are trying to infiltrate into India plans to move to other Indian states which are far from the India-Bangladesh border. This is because, in states like Bengal, Assam and Tripura, the security forces are vigilant in towns and villages to prevent such people from settling down, even if they manage to infiltrate India. That is why checking has been intensified at the railway stations,” said a source.

The RPF officer pointed out that in north Bengal and the Northeast, some stations are not far from the Bangladesh border. For example, the Malda Town station is just around 10km from the border while NJP is around 5km from the boundary. From these stations, one can take long-distance trains to reach different parts of the country.

The BSF has also intensified patrolling across the border.