NEW DELHI, Apr 19
A 25-year-old man was arrested in South Tripura district on Thursday evening while he was allegedly attempting to enter Bangladesh illegally, officials said on Friday. The police identified the man as Ayan Alam and said that he claimed he was a “Pakistan-born Bangla-deshi national”.
“Ayan Alam was detained by locals at Jalefa in South Tripura on Thursday and was handed over to the police later. During interrogation, he said he was a Pakistan-born Bangladeshi citizen. It is suspicious. Interrogation revealed he was from Mayarampur village of Brahmanbaria district of Bangladesh,” Sabroom Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Apu Das told reporters.
Alam allegedly confessed that his family had shifted from Bangladesh to Pakistan 25 years ago. However, after the family allegedly faced action from Pakistani authorities in the absence of valid documents, Alam’s father returned to Bangladesh with him in 2011. His mother, four brothers and four sisters stayed back in Bangladesh, he claimed.
During interrogation, Alam allegedly confessed to having illegally entered India via West Bengal in 2014 and having moved to Kerala, where he worked at a company for two years. “He claimed that he moved to New Friends Colony in Delhi where he collected recyclable waste for a factory.
About his Pakistani link, he claimed he moved to Kashmir this month where he tried to cross over into Pakistan. However, he failed and returned to Delhi, where the special branch detained him on March 15.
He claimed that he was dispatched on a train to Agartala via Tripura Sundari Express after a month of interrogation and reached here on April 18,” an official said.
According to the police, Alam confessed to having reached Sabroom after contacting a tout to help him cross into Bangladesh. The tout allegedly called him to Manubazaar but en route, he was detained by locals. A case was registered against Alam, and his mobile phone, some Indian currency and some Indian documents, including an Aadhaar card, were recovered from his possession, the police said. A senior official of the state police, who did not wish to be named, later said that Alam is a Bangladeshi citizen and his mother who is in Pakistan is his only known Pakistani link. The official added that Alam’s presence in Indian territory despite tight security on the border and his possible link to illegal organisations or outfits are being investigated.
