As of December 14 this year, as many as 3,173 illegal migrants were detained by the BSF when they were attempting to cross over to Bangladesh, three times more than 1,115 people caught while trying to enter India through illegal means, reports The Hindu. The numbers of Bangladeshis leaving the country stood at 2,638, 2,971, and 821 in 2019, 2018, and 2017 respectively compared to 1,351, 1,118, and 871 persons respectively who entered illegally. In 2017, as many as 892 Indians were caught while crossing over to Bangladesh and 276 Indians while entering the country without any documents. Another official added that there has been a surge in numbers of illegal Bangladeshis leaving the country due to lack of work after the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown. Bangladesh and India share 4096.7km border with large porous stretches.

Source: Dhaka Tribune December 18, 2020 07:41 UTC