The Border Security Force (BSF) on Monday arrested a Bangladeshi national, who was hiding inside a cargo train at Petrapole railway station. The BSF suspect it is a case of human trafficking.
On being questioned, the man revealed that his name was Mohammad Abu Tahir and was a resident of Burburia, Komila in Bangladesh. The 41-year-old further disclosed that he came to India with the help of a middleman to work in North 24 Parganas in West Bengal.
Petropole is the Indian side of checkpoint between India and Bangladesh. "Human trafficking is done at large scale here as brokers try to extract the sizeable amount of money from innocents. The human smugglers have started this new method of hiding inside cargo trains for illegal intrusion in the country," the BSF said.
"We have asked the railways to properly seal coaches when the goods trains are emptied, so as to prevent illegal intrusion," it added.
At least six Bangladeshis have been taken into custody in five different incidents since June 20. Among them, two were children who were being trafficked to India, while three others hiding in bags inside a cargo train.
( With inputs from ANI )