Bangladeshi nationals detained at Visakhapatnam railway station

On Tuesday afternoon, the Railway Protection Force (RPF), and the City Police, jointly held a search operation, at the Visakhapatnam Railway Station. During the exercise, a total of sixteen people were detained. Six are suspected to be nationals of Bangladesh. Reportedly, the suspects entered India without either a passport or any other identity proofs. 

The detained individuals work at a factory in Bengaluru. It is further learnt that three women and a few children were among the group. The suspected individuals of Bangladesh were returning to West Bengal in the Howrah-Yeshwantpur Express, on Tuesday. Acting on a tip-off, provided by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Bengaluru Police, the local police searched the train, and took the suspects into custody for interrogation. 

Speaking to the media, Visakhapatnam Police Commissioner, Rajeev Kumar Meena (IPS), said that preliminary investigation suggests that the detained do not have passports and had entered India some time ago illegally. There is also an opinion that the detained were sent to Bengaluru for work, by someone from Kolkata, and this could be a case of human trafficking.

A senior RPF official informed that the team is currently looking into the case, and further details will be divulged only after the investigation is completed.