Assam on Rohingya influx high alert

GUWAHATI: In a bid to curb infiltration of refugees and trespassing, Assam Police sounded a high alert across the state, especially in districts bordering Bangladesh, on Wednesday.

The move comes after the arrest of three Indian touts from Sonapura in Tripura on Tuesday, who had helped Rohingya refugees gain illegal entry into the state.

A few weeks ago, cops had nabbed six suspected Rohingyas near the Assam-Tripura interstate border at Churaibari in Karimganj, said Assam Police DG Mukesh Sahay.

Currently in judicial custody, they had fled a refugee camp in Bangladesh and entered Assam with the help of the touts, who facilitated infiltration from the unfenced boundary at Sonamura in Sipahijala district.

"The refugees had fled Myanmar in 2016 and were staying at a refugee camp in Kutupalang village of Cox's Bazar district in Bangladesh. They then fled the camp with the help of touts in Karimganj and entered Assam. They claimed to have fled Bangladesh due to poor living standards and wanted to go to Nepal via Guwahati for work," said Gaurav Upadhyay , Karimganj SP , He added that several Bangladeshi SIM cards and currency were seized from their possession.

"Based on their revelations, a police team from Karimganj went to Sonamura to nab the touts, but they managed to escape. They , however, became active once again during the Puja vacation and were arrested soon after in a separate operation," the SP said.The touts have been identified as Sahajahan Choudhary alias Saju, Faruk Mia Choudhury and Suman Choudhary.