NEW DELHI: In the backdrop of the Centre’s intensified crackdown on illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, the Border Security Force (BSF) has revealed that it thwarted infiltration attempts by more than 5,000 individuals from Bangladesh over the past three years along India’s eastern and northeastern frontiers.According to BSF data, 2,406 individuals were intercepted and sent back in 2023. The number rose slightly to 2,425 in 2024. Till May 2025, 557 people have already been pushed back. The BSF said the infiltration attempts were primarily concentrated along borders in West Bengal, Mizoram and Tripura.West Bengal, governed by the Trinamool Congress (TMC), has recorded the highest number of such incidents. A total of 2,688 Bangladeshi nationals were apprehended and repelled over the past three years. The south Bengal sector alone accounted for 2,410 of these cases, while north Bengal reported 278.The year-wise break-up for West Bengal shows 1,181 cases in 2023, 1,516 in 2024, and 384 till March 2025. The data has reignited the political blame game, with the BJP, ruling at the Centre, frequently targeting the TMC over alleged lax border management.Mizoram reported the second-highest number of illegal entry attempts, with 1,679 people pushed back since 2023. The number dropped from 1,084 in 2023 to 519 in 2024 and stood at 76 till March 2025.Tripura, another BJP-ruled state, ranked third with 771 cases over the three years. Notably, the trend in Tripura is upward: 200 in 2023, 390 in 2024, and 181 till March this year.Assam, also governed by the BJP, saw the fewest such cases. Only 51 Bangladeshi nationals were intercepted at its borders in the last three years—25 in 2023, 22 in 2024, and just four so far in 2025.In Meghalaya, 199 infiltration attempts were recorded—39 in 2023, a sharp rise to 113 in 2024, and 47 till March this year, already surpassing the 2023 figure.
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