- Eight Bangladeshi nationals entered Assam via Meghalaya and were travelling to Chennai for construction work
- The detainees are from Jamalpur, Bangladesh, and this was their first visit to India
- Investigation into a possible human trafficking network facilitating the cross-border movement is underway
Eight Bangladeshi nationals were detained in Assam's Bongaigaon on suspicion of illegal border crossing and lack of valid documents on Tuesday.
According to the police, the accused individuals had illegally entered Assam through the Indo-Bangladesh border via Meghalaya and were travelling to Chennai for work.
"We have detained eight suspected Bangladeshi nationals for illegally entering India. They confessed that they were from Jamalpur area of Bangladesh and going to Chennai for work. We have registered a case and further proceedings," said a Government Railway Police (GRP) official at New Bongaigaon Railway Station.
The detainees, who were reportedly construction workers from Jamalpur, said this is their first time coming to India.
"We entered India through Meghalaya and are going to Chennai for construction work. This is my first time in India and I don't know anything, we came here for work," said one of the detainees.
A possible involvement of a human trafficking network facilitating illegal cross-border movement between Bangladesh and India is also being investigated by the police, who are currently verifying the identities and immigration status of the accused.
The detained individuals have been identified as Babu Sheikh, Ashraful Haque, Alamin Ali, Mamun Sheikh, Mohammad Ali, Rahul Amin, Musharraf Ali and Asharul Haque.
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