NEW DELHI: Four alleged Bangladeshi nationals and their Indian handler were detained by the Central Industrial Security (CISF) personnel a couple of days ago at Agartala airport. They have been handed over to Tripura police. This the second such instance within a fortnight of a group suspected to be of Bangladeshi origin denied boarding on a flight at Agartala.
The individuals detained on August 24 planned to take an Indigo flight (6E 6097) from Maharaja Bir Bikram airport to Kolkata and then split into two groups and head to Delhi and Bengaluru, said a CISF source. "They came under suspicion during routine surveillance by security personnel." he said.
Their details were subsequently verified in coordination with the concerned units of Tripura Police and other agencies, the source added.
"During verification, it was found that one of the passengers was an Indian national and was allegedly acting as a handler for the remaining four suspected Bangladeshi nationals," he explained.
Following the preliminary verification, all five persons were handed over to the local Airport Police Station for further legal action.
The case is being investigated by the concerned authorities. CISF continues to maintain surveillance and carry out security checks at airports in coordination with other law-enforcement and intelligence agencies, said an official release.
On August 10, four women, also suspected to be Bangladeshi nationals, were detained at Agartala airport. A few more incidents involving nationals alleged to be natives of Bangladesh have been reported at airports in the North East in the recent past.
On June 28, Tripura police had detained eight individuals near the Maharaja Bir Bikram airport suspecting them to be Bangladeshi nationals. On July 1, 2026, two Bangladeshi nationals were detained at Guwahati airport during checks before they were about to board their Akasa Air flight to Mumbai.
