Five Bangladeshis jailed in Tripura

Five Bangladesh nationals have been sentenced to 28 days of rigorous imprisonment (RI) for illegally entering the north-east Indian state of Tripura. Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Jhunu Lal Das told bdnews24.com by telephone the judicial magistrate of Sabroom, in southern Tripura, delivered the verdict under the Indian Passport Act while also imposing a fine of Rs3,000 on each. The failure to pay the fine would extend their prison term to a month’s simple imprisonment, Das said. All five belong to the tribal Tripura community and are residents of villages under the Matiranga Police Station, in the Khagrhachharhi district of the Chittagong Hill Tracts. They had entered India through a gap in the border fence, Das said. The five were arrested on June 25 by India’s Border Security Force, who handed them over to the Shilacheri Police Station after initial interrogation. The convicted persons have been identified as Bala Kumar Tripura, 45, son of Dhani Purna Tripura, and Arun Bikash Tripura, 32, son of Pinaka Tripura, both of Belchharhi. The other three - Rabin Tripura, 31, son of Poliga Tripura, Haradhan Tripura, 25, son of Tinjin Tripura, and Sanjib Tripura, 32, son of Khagendra Tripura – are from the Garhgaria hamlet. Tripura shares an 856-km border with Bangladesh, much of which is fenced.

- mbz