Agartala (Tripura) [India], January 25 (ANI): Border Security Force (BSF) Tripura Frontier IG Sushanta Kumar Nath on Tuesday said that the cross border infiltration has reduced since 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Addressing a press conference at BSF headquarters Shalbagan in West Tripura, Nath said, "A total of 221 infiltrators have been arrested while attempting to cross the borders illegally. Among the detained persons, 118 were Indian nationals, 97 were identified as Bangladeshi nationals and six were from other nationalities.""In comparison to 2020, the detection rate is higher as 128 persons were intercepted for unlawfully breaching the Indo-Bangla international borders. These cases were higher in numbers in 2019 and 2018," the BSF IG said.

According to the BSF IG, the long-pending issue of single row fencing in certain patches is also being looked into and last year six such gaps had been plugged as BSG and their Bangladesh counterpart reached a consensus on persistent territorial disputes.

Nath said, "This year six gaps in various parts of the state have been fenced with single row fencing that is going to act as a protective shield against the trans-border crimes. Apart from that, gill nets have been set up to plug off small scale bridges and culverts to prevent trans-border crimes".

Responding to a query regarding lack of arrests if compared to the colossal amount of seizures made round the year, Nath said, "Maximum times, the smugglers pass consignments by throwing articles from one side of the fence to the other. Whenever the BSF troops get a tip-off or spot some movement suspected to be of smugglers they hurriedly reach the spot.""And, whenever the smugglers sense any trouble they tend to leave the substances and run away. In numerous such instances, the BSF has filed FIRs with local police station naming the persons involved in case the identity is revealed and I am sure the agencies concerned have taken effective steps," he added.

According to the BSF press statement, a total of 31 insurgents have so far laid down arms before the border guarding forces and returned to mainstream life. The total seizures made last year were worth Rs 35.64 crore including Narcotic substances.

The seizure includes 88,417 Yaba tablets, 13,206 kgs of dry Ganja, Phensedyls and Eskuff syrups and many more. Ganja plantations worth over Rs 24 Crore have also been destroyed during separate operations during the whole year, the statement added. (ANI)