Infiltration by individuals, especially from the Rohingya community, across the Bangladesh border has become a “very serious” issue, a Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official stated on Monday. Since Saturday, 29 Bangladesh nationals without valid travel documents have been arrested in two locations in Tripura, highlighting the ongoing infiltration problem. “Infiltration, especially Rohingya infiltration, has become a very serious issue. The presence of Rohingyas has been found in Hyderabad, Haryana, and Kashmir. This is a threat to security,” said MEA Joint Secretary Ankan Banerjee during a media briefing. Banerjee emphasized that the infiltration issue is being discussed at the highest levels of government. “We want to push the illegal immigrants back, but the MEA can’t give clearance until the host country establishes their identification of nationality,” he explained.
Addressing concerns about juvenile infiltrators held in detention centers or jails due to a lack of clearance from the MEA, Banerjee clarified that the infiltrators often do not provide correct information, and the host country is reluctant to accept their return. “The MEA is just an intervening agency which can’t issue clearance unless nationality identification is confirmed by the concerned country,” he noted. Banerjee also mentioned efforts to improve connectivity between the northeast and Kolkata through Bangladesh. “It is happening… We can’t force anyone. We have a very favorable government in Dhaka since 2009. This is a political issue. There was a massive protest in Bangladesh recently. I am sure all the pending issues will be addressed amicably by the highest leadership of both countries,” he added.
Recent violence in Bangladesh, where the government called in the army to quell protests against job quotas, resulted in 150 deaths during student unrest, officially acknowledged by the neighboring country’s government.
