Agartala: Police in South Tripura detained a Bangladeshi couple on Friday night for allegedly entering India through an unauthorised route without valid documents.Police said Santanu Debnath and his wife, residents of Chittagong, were stopped at Debdaru in Shantirbazar while travelling on a passenger bus. Officers detained them after they appeared suspicious and could not produce valid identification.Debnath told police the couple faced hardship in Bangladesh and decided to seek asylum in India. He said he learned about illegal border crossings during a college outing near the Matiranga border close to Khagrachari.Police said the couple crossed into India through the Silachari border area in Gomati district and boarded a bus to travel onward. Their movement was intercepted during checks initiated after a tip-off about suspected infiltration in the area.During questioning, police said the couple initially claimed to be Indian nationals but later admitted they were Bangladeshi. A search of their belongings recovered two mobile phones and two Bangladeshi SIM cards, police said.Bakuljoy Reang, officer-in charge of the Debdaru outpost, said, “We received a tip-off regarding infiltration of one couple from Bangladesh. Based on this, we started checking vehicles and found them inside a bus. Initially they introduced themselves as Indian nationals, but later they accepted that they are Bangladeshi. We have also seized Bangladeshi SIM cards and mobile phones. They entered from the Silachari bordering area in Gomati district.”Police said preliminary inquiry into the route and circumstances of the alleged illegal entry is underway.
