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Infiltration Surge Before Bengal-Assam Polls: Unfenced Border Crisis, RPF Arrests, Supreme Court Refuses CRPF Withdrawal
By NIRENDRA DEV
Kolkata,
— Central security agencies have sounded a major alarm over a surge in illegal immigration along the India-Bangladesh border in the election season in Assam and West Bengal, warning that the infiltration push could run into several thousands — with the biggest wave expected before voting is complete.
Simultaneously, the Supreme Court has refused to withdraw central forces from West Bengal after videos emerged of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee allegedly telling voters the CRPF would beat them up.
The trigger came when the Railway Protection Force (RPF) arrested 14 Bangladeshi nationals aboard the New Delhi-bound North-East Express in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district.
During interrogation, the detainees revealed they had entered India through the Assam border using fake documents, with plans to travel onward to Delhi and other parts of north India.
Central agencies have since alerted the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) and state police in both Assam and West Bengal to conduct heavy scrutiny. Investigators are probing the networks — and the individuals — who facilitated the entry.
The arrests reflect a wider pattern. In 2025, the India-Bangladesh border recorded its highest infiltration figures in nearly a decade, with 1,104 detected attempts and 2,556 arrests between January and November alone — surpassing the 977 cases recorded through all of 2024.
The Unfenced Border Problem
At the heart of the security gap is an infrastructure deficit that has persisted for years. Of India’s approximately 4,061-kilometre border with Bangladesh, around 3,141 kilometres remain unfenced — leaving touts and trafficking networks with ample room to operate.
West Bengal shares a 2,216-kilometre stretch of that border, of which 569 kilometres remain unfenced. Security officials and BJP leaders blame the shortfall squarely on the Mamata government’s alleged non-cooperation in providing land for fencing construction.
In Assam, the challenge is geographical rather than political — marshlands, hills, and riverine terrain make conventional fencing impossible across large stretches. Over 900 kilometres of the total border is riverine, where physical barriers cannot be erected.
Those same riverine corridors became escape routes in 2024 for Awami League supporters and workers — including many Hindus — fleeing Bangladesh during the peak of the anti-Sheikh Hasina protests and in the immediate aftermath of the interim regime’s takeover.
Recent infiltration spikes are attributed to political instability in Bangladesh following the 2024 government transition, acute economic pressures including food inflation that reached 14.10% in mid-2024, and escalating sectarian tensions within Bangladesh.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking at a rally in Assam, framed illegal immigration in the most direct terms possible. “This is not just an election slogan — it is an issue related to Assam’s identity and the security of the state and the nation,” Modi said, adding that infiltration affects the land of farmers, the livelihoods of the poor and Adivasis, and the safety of women.
Modi also alleged — a claim the Congress party contests — that the Congress was actively supporting infiltrators in Assam, urging BJP workers to document illegal entries and encroachments and assess their negative impacts on local communities.
Supreme Court Refuses to Withdraw Central Forces
The security situation in West Bengal took a sharp judicial turn on April 6 when the Election Commission placed before the Supreme Court videos purportedly showing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and other Trinamool Congress leaders warning voters that central forces were coming to beat them up.
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“The CRPF people are coming from UP to beat you up — be prepared,” Banerjee allegedly told voters in one clip submitted to the court.
The bench, headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant and hearing a Special Investigation Report case, was visibly unimpressed. Counsel D. Seshadri Naidu, representing the Election Commission, told the court that the statements were “rabble rousing” that would “only vitiate the atmosphere.”
Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, went further — telling the court that “democracy was in danger” in Bengal.
Chief Justice Kant’s response was unambiguous. “Looking at the way things have happened in the recent past, the central forces will not be withdrawn from West Bengal,” he observed orally. “If the state machinery fails to discharge its duty, we will see what should be done.”
The CJI also noted communication from Calcutta High Court Chief Justice Sujoy Paul confirming that as of noon on Monday, 59.15 lakh of 60.06 lakh cases under adjudication had been disposed of by judicial officers — suggesting the courts were moving to clear the electoral backlog.
Nandigram, Bhawanipore and the Stakes for Mamata
Adding a further electoral dimension, a study has flagged disproportionality between the Muslim share of the electorate and the community’s share among deleted voters in Nandigram, East Midnapore — the constituency where BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari defeated Mamata Banerjee in the 2021 assembly elections. Adhikari is contesting Nandigram again.
Banerjee is seeking re-election from Bhawanipore. BJP leaders are projecting confidence on both fronts.
“Voters in Bhawanipore will create a national record when Mamata Banerjee becomes the first sitting Indian Chief Minister to lose an assembly election twice,” a BJP leader said.
courtesy - The Raisinha Hillls
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