Karimganj: A 35-year-old man from a zero-line village in Assam’s Sribhumi district, who went missing on Thursday morning, was traced to Bangladesh in the night.
On Friday, the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) alleged that he was involved in drug and arms smuggling.
Balai Namasudra, is a resident of Gobindapur village in the Sribhumi district. The village is located in Indian territory beyond the border fence. Family members said that he is a fisherman by profession.
His wife Mamata said Namasudra used to go fishing near the border pillar every day. On Thursday morning, around 5.30 am, he went there to collect fish from a net he placed the previous evening.
“Usually he returns in a few hours but on Thursday, he didn’t return until the afternoon. We started searching for him and lodged a missing report at Sribhumi Sadar police station in the evening,” Mamata said, adding that she was later told that her husband had been found in Bangladesh.
Later on Thursday, someone from Bangladesh contacted her and asked for photocopies of Namasudra’s voter ID, Aadhaar card and, if possible, passport.
“The person told me that Balai had been caught in Bangladesh for entering illegally and would be sent back after basic documentation, for which these documents were important,” Mamata said.
The Indian resident, however, remained untraced for several hours after that. His wife said she tried contacting the number but received no response. She then went to the Latu police outpost near their village, but officials asked her to visit Sadar police station as the matter involved an international border.
Mamata told Hindustan Times on Saturday that she learnt the details of the allegations against her husband after someone showed her a social media post by the BGB about the arrest of an Indian man with drugs and a firearm. She recognised the man in the video as her husband.
“He is a common fisherman, we are Indians and we stay in a village outside Indian fencing. How can my husband get all these tablets and a pistol? He has been framed and I appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring my husband back,” she said.
The BGB claimed that Namasudra was caught in the Kumarshail border area of Barlekha upazila in Moulvibazar on August 27. BGB personnel allegedly recovered a foreign-made pistol, two rounds of .22-bore ammunition and 500 Yaba tablets from him during a special operation.
A gang of smugglers from the Indian side allegedly entered Bangladesh and opened fire at security forces when confronted, the BGB said.
“The BGB members returned fire in self-defence, following which the smugglers attempted to flee the area. The BGB personnel chased them and managed to arrest one Indian smuggler,” the BGB said in a social media post on Friday.
“Based on preliminary interrogation and available information, the BGB suspects that the arrested man is linked to a border-based smuggling network and that the recovered firearms and drugs had been brought from India for supply in Bangladesh,” it added.
A video shared by the BGB also showed Namasudra’s voter ID card and other personal documents and identified him as an Indian smuggler.
Trinayan Bhuyan, additional superintendent of police (crime), Sribhumi, said on Saturday that after receiving the missing-person complaint, officials reached the area and began investigating. However, since the area is outside the fence, they coordinated with the Border Security Force (BSF).
“Talks are taking place and our senior officials are also involved. Since the missing person’s details surfaced on social media from Bangladesh, the matter will be discussed by the concerned authorities,” he said, adding that senior police officials had also visited Namasudra’s house.
BSF officials said on Saturday that the BGB informed them about the arrest of an Indian man with Yaba tablets and a pistol on Friday and talks between the two sides were underway.
“They have some allegations and we said that we must investigate before coming to any conclusion. We have informed our higher authorities about it and further talks will be happening,” a senior BSF official said.
The official said nothing had been established yet and the matter was under investigation, when asked about the possibility of narcotics being smuggled through border areas.
Some smugglers had used methods such as throwing packets from a distance in the past and this possibility would also be considered as part of the investigation.
Eight to nine villages in the state fall within the 150-metre stretch from the fencing, and their residents are Indian nationals.
“There were several attempts by the government to bring them within the fence but things did not work out somehow and these issues continue,” another BSF official said.
Zero-point villagers have often complained of harassment by Bangladeshi criminals and BGB personnel, particularly at night, after the fence gates are locked.
Earlier this year, two Indians were allegedly kidnapped from the Sribhumi-Cachar border, triggering protests.