GUWAHATI: Assam Police and Border Security Force (BSF) unearthed an illegally constructed tunnel ‘accidentally’ while conducting an investigation in a recent kidnapping case in Karimganj district along the Indo-Bangladesh border.
The said tunnel is located next to the barbed fence erected by BSF, adjoining a ditch, that separates the Indian territory from that of Bangladesh. Reportedly, the tunnel is frequently used by infiltrators and smugglers from Bangladesh to bypass the international border and make their way to India.
The police discovered the tunnel while probing a kidnapping case involving two cattle smugglers. They were allegedly kidnapped and taken to the Bangladeshi side but later miraculously returned back to Karimganj in Assam. This raised the suspicion of the law enforcement, who then interrogated the duo. On interrogation, the cattle smugglers took the police to the location where the tunnel is located. They have now been detained by the Karimganj police.
Reportedly, the tunnel has been used by infiltrators, smugglers and anti-social elements for a long time. This has now raised questions of security lapses at the border, which is guarded by the Border Security Force (BSF).
Meanwhile, Assam Police and BSF officials are tight-lipped about the discovery of the illegal tunnel.
Assam Police DIG Dilip Kumar Dey refrained from commenting on it.
Karimganj SP, Mayank Kumar, said, “This is a matter of investigation… Yes, there are some areas where this is a problem. We have conveyed the same to the BSF and this is a part of a joint and ongoing probe.”
