Police-NIA operation nets 47 touts
STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: In the wee hours of Wednesday, Assam Police assisted the NIA and police forces in different states in nabbing 47 touts who were helping illegal migrants enter India and spread across the country through Assam.
The touts, or middlemen, have been active on both sides of the India-Bangladesh border, and they assist illegal migrants, including Bangladeshis and Rohingyas, to enter India and board trains for other places after passing through Assam. Special Director General of Police (SDGP) Harmeet Singh informed the media of this.
In February of this year, a group of Rohingyas were caught by Karimganj police on a train coming from Tripura at Karimganj railway station. A thorough investigation was conducted, and it was discovered that illegal Bangladesi and Rohingya infiltrators were regularly entering India through the India-Bangladesh border in Tripura. Assam police stepped up the vigil and later succeeded in preventing 450 illegal migrants from entering the country and pushing them back with the help of forces guarding the border, including BSF, the SDGP stated.
Appalled at the large number of infiltrators entering the country, the police launched an investigation, and it was found that touts or middlemen were involved in the human trafficking of illegal migrants. It was also discovered that the touts existed not only on both sides of the border but were also active on the mainland. Soon, an operation was initiated by the Special Task Force (STF) to identify the touts and apprehend them. In July 2023, the STF managed to nab 10 such touts. After they were questioned, it emerged that a network of touts was spread across the country, posing a threat to national security and having inter-state ramifications. The Assam government took up the matter with the Centre with the request to hand over one such case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) as the state was being used as a corridor to transport the infiltrators, Harmeet Singh stated.
The modus operandi was that an infiltrator would contact a tout in the neighbouring country for assistance in migrating to India, for a price, of course. The tout would contact his counterpart in India, and both would then help the person enter India. Once the border was crossed, the infiltrator would be helped in boarding a train or bus headed to Assam. From here, the infiltrator would be assisted at different points by the network of touts, said the SDGP.
About the operation that succeeded in nabbing the touts, SDGP Harmeet Singh said that after the NIA took up the case, the Assam Police collaborated in drawing up a list of the touts, and an operation was launched in the wee hours of Wednesday (Nov. 8) with the help of the police in different states where the touts were running the racket. A total of 47 touts were arrested in the operation. The states and number of touts arrested are: Tripura-25, Assam-5, West Bengal-3, Karnataka-9, Haryana-1, Telengana-1, and Tamil Nadu-3.
Assam Police provided physical assistance to the NIA in Assam, Tripura, and the Northern States, according to the SDGP, saying that 17 teams were on the ground for the operation.
Meanwhile, NIA said that following registration of four human trafficking cases at the NIA branches in Guwahati, Chennai, Bangalore, and Jaipur, simultaneous and synchronized raids and searches were carried out at a total of 55 locations across the states and union territories of Tripura, Assam, West Bengal, Karnataka,,Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Haryana, Rajasthan, Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Puducherry
The initial case, FIR no: 12/2023 dated September 9, 2023, was registered by the Assam Police’s Special Task Force (STF) and pertained to a human trafficking network responsible for the infiltration and settlement of illegal migrants across the Indo-Bangladesh border into India, including those of Rohingya origin. Recognizing the international and inter-state linkages of the case and its complexity, the NIA formally took charge of the investigations on October 6, 2023, by registering a case as RC 01/2023/NIA/GUW at the NIA Police Station in Guwahati.
During the searches on Wednesday, the NIA recovered various items of significance, including: Digital devices, such as mobile phones, SIM cards, and pen drives; a significant number of identity-related documents, including Aadhar cards and Pan Cards, suspected to be forged; Indian currency notes with a total value exceeding Rs. 20 lakhs; and Foreign currency amounting to 4550 USD.
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