Assam: Assam Police have arrested 17 Bangladeshi nationals in two separate operations in Guwahati over the past two days for allegedly entering India illegally.
Five Bangladeshi nationals were arrested on Tuesday from the general coach of the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Express during routine checking near Paltan Bazar railway station.
Police said they had allegedly entered India through Dawki in Meghalaya and reached Guwahati on October 5 before planning to travel to Mumbai in search of work.
Police subsequently arrested four people accused of allegedly harbouring and facilitating the group, including a hotel owner, two managers and an alleged facilitator who transported the foreign nationals from the railway station to the hotel.
In a separate operation on Wednesday, 13 more Bangladeshi nationals were arrested from a Guwahati hotel.
According to police, they had allegedly been living near Srinagar for 10 to 15 years before travelling to Guwahati following a crackdown on illegal foreign nationals and seeking a route back to Bangladesh.
The Assam Police have initiated proceedings for their expulsion under the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, while further investigation is underway into the network allegedly facilitating the movement and stay of foreign nationals.