Intelligence agencies, both central and state, are on high alert in West Bengal following inputs about the sudden increase in the number of outsiders hiring rooms in different villages close to the international borders with Bangladesh.
Sources said that most of the new faces, who suddenly surfaced in the bordering villages, were aged between their mid-twenties and early thirties. As per inputs received by the security agencies from the natives of these villages, the new faces rarely interact with the local people.
Now this development, sources said, has kept the security and intelligence agencies on high alert mainly for two reasons, the first being inputs about attempts by activists of Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HUT) to open sleeper cells at different points in the bordering districts of West Bengal with Bangladesh.
The second is the arrival of winter when illegal infiltration through the porous borders is generally high, taking advantage of the dense fog in these remote bordering areas after sunset.
These two reasons, coupled with the ongoing tension in neighbouring Bangladesh, have prompted the security and central agencies to beef up surveillance at these borders, both land and maritime borders, with the additional headache of outsiders starting to flock to the bordering villages.
Sources said that the central intelligence and security agencies are regularly updating their higher officials in New Delhi as well as the Union Ministry of Home Affairs about the new developments at the India-Bangladesh bordering villages in West Bengal.
Intelligence agencies, sources added, have also got specific information that two active HUT associates recently came to West Bengal with valid Bangladeshi passports posing as students and had meetings with some local youths in Malda and Murshidabad districts.
These two HUT activists, as per intelligence inputs, initially picked up conversations with the local youths in these two districts discussing religious issues and thereafter carried on the conversation to the level of opening sleeper cells in the bordering districts. These two Bangladeshi citizens interacting with the local youth have been identified as Ridwan Maruf and Sabbir Amir.
Bhavan’s Little Learners celebrate annual programme
The Bhavan’s Little Learners, Bordowali celebrated annual programme and organised prize distribution ceremony here at Agartala Rabindra Satabarshiki Bhavan on Wednesday.
Govt working to boost agricultural production to make Tripura self-reliant: Minister Ratan Lal Nath
The Tripura government is contemplating to make Tripura self-reliant in agricultural production, said agriculture minister Ratan Lal Nath on Wednesday.
Scholarship Fraud: Tribal Welfare Dept issues show cause to 34 students
In a major crackdown on scholarship fraud, the Tripura Tribal Welfare Department has issued show cause notices to 34 students for allegedly submitting fake income certificates to avail the Scheduled Tribe (ST) Post-Matric Scholarship for the academic year 2023-24.
Fall of Congress in Gujarat: Three decades of decline and struggle for relevance
The Congress party was once the dominant political force in Gujarat, shaping the state’s governance since independence. However, over the past 30 years, the party has witnessed a dramatic downfall, losing ground to the BJP’s aggressive electoral strategies, organisational strength, and ideological appeal.
‘Disempowering Muslims’: J&K political parties oppose Waqf (Amendment) Bill
All political parties of J&K, except the BJP, opposed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, saying that the Bill is intended to disempower Muslims and only target one religion.
Radical group founder wanted in Jaipur serial blast plot apprehended in Ratlam
The Madhya Pradesh Police in Ratlam achieved a significant breakthrough in apprehending Firoz, also known as Sabji, a fugitive implicated in a conspiracy to execute serial blasts aimed at creating panic and terrorising the Rajasthan capital city of Jaipur.
Amit Shah & Akhilesh Yadav’s lighter exchange in LS over party president
Amid the uproar and heated debate between the ruling party and the Opposition over the Waqf Amendment Bill on Wednesday, the Lok Sabha witnessed some lighter moments between Home Minister Amit Shah and SP President Akhilesh Yadav.
Waqf Bill weakens Constitution, defames minorities, divides society: Gaurav Gogoi
As Parliament debated the contentious Waqf Amendment Bill, 2025, on Wednesday, deputy leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi came down heavily on the government.