Kolkata, March 2 (IANS) Three Bangladeshi women were arrested for allegedly entering India without valid documents, Railway Police sources said on Monday.
The women were detained from the Guwahati-Bengaluru Express on Sunday. They had boarded the train from New Jalpaiguri (NJP) station in north Bengal and were intercepted at Malda station.
During questioning, police confirmed that all three were residents of Bangladesh and did not possess valid travel documents. They were formally arrested late on Sunday night and will be produced before a court in Malda Town on Monday.
According to police and railway sources, the three women, hailing from Mymensingh district in Bangladesh, had allegedly crossed into India without valid documents with the help of a broker. They are suspected to have entered through the Assam-Bangladesh border. Subsequently, arrangements were reportedly made through intermediaries for them to travel to Karnataka in search of employment. They boarded the Guwahati-Bengaluru Express from NJP on Sunday.
Railway Police personnel were conducting routine surveillance across various compartments of the train when they identified the three women in the general compartment and questioned them on suspicion. During questioning, the women allegedly admitted that they were Bangladeshi nationals who had entered India without valid documents. After crossing the border near Sylhet, they travelled further by train and were en route to Bengaluru in search of work.
The Railway Police stated that legal proceedings have been initiated against the arrested women. The route and circumstances through which they entered the country will also be investigated.
The Malda Town Railway Protection Force (RPF) handed over the three women to the Government Railway Police (GRP) police station for further action. A case has been registered against them under relevant sections pertaining to illegal border crossing and entry into India without passports or valid documentation.
Police are also probing whether any organised human trafficking or cross-border smuggling network was involved in facilitating their movement.
Ahead of the Assembly elections in West Bengal, state police and railway police have intensified surveillance to monitor suspected illegal cross-border movements, particularly in districts sharing an international border with Bangladesh.
–IANS
sch/pgh