Indian border guards have arrested 150 Bangladeshis who sailed into India in what security officials Saturday called the biggest interception of illegal migrants in decades. The arrests were made Friday when the immigrants, who included 36 women and 40 children, sailed into India in two speed boats through the Ichamati and Raimongal rivers that flow through the South Asian countries.
"After 1971, this is first time so many Bangladeshi nationals were arrested while crossing the border," India's Border Security Force inspector general C.V Muralidharan said. The Bangladesh deputy High Commission in eastern Kolkata city said it unaware of the reported incident. Bangladesh, formerly East Pakistan, won independence in 1971 with Indian military help. India is home to tens of thousands of Bangladeshis whom officials say crossed illegally into the country, mainly through borders in West Bengal, Tripura and Assam.
The two countries share a 4,000-kilometre (2,500-mile) border, part of which has been fenced by India in a bid to halt to prevent illegal immigrants sneaking into its north-eastern states. The immigration issue has driven a wedge between north-east India's Bengali-speaking population and local tribal and ethnic inhabitants, with Muslims bearing the brunt of decades of mistrust. Bangladesh has rejected accusations it encourages migration of its citizens to India.
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