Correspondent
SHILLONG, SEP 20 (NPN): The Hynniewtrep Youth Council (HYC) has demanded immediate reinforcement of surveillance along vulnerable stretches of the India–Bangladesh border following the detention of 27 Bangladeshi nationals in Assam who allegedly crossed into Indian territory through the Dawki sector in Meghalaya. In a statement issued Sunday, HYC president Roy Kupar Synrem questioned how 27 foreign nationals could cross the international border through Dawki, travel across Meghalaya and reach Assam undetected.
“For years, HYC and civil society organisations have highlighted vulnerabilities along portions of the Indo‑Bangladesh border and warned about organised networks facilitating illegal cross‑border movement. Yet, the response of the authorities continues to be reactive rather than preventive,” Synrem said.
On September 16, Assam Police arrested 27 Bangladeshi nationals in two separate operations—12 from the ASTC campus at Paltanbazar, Guwahati and 15 from the Guwahati–Jammu Tawi Express at Rangiya. Police said the group, comprising men, women and minors, were using Guwahati as a transit hub to move to other parts of India. Synrem stressed that the matter cannot be treated as resolved merely because the individuals were apprehended in Assam. “The real issue is how they allegedly crossed the border, how they travelled through our region without detection, and whether an organised network facilitated their movement,” he said.
HYC demanded a time‑bound investigation into the entire chain of events, including the alleged involvement of touts, brokers, transporters or facilitators. The group also called for immediate strengthening of surveillance along vulnerable stretches of the border, particularly footpaths and traditional crossing points, and urged coordinated action among the BSF, Meghalaya Police, Assam Police and other agencies.
The HYC president emphasised greater monitoring of routes from border areas into the interior, especially those connecting Meghalaya with Assam, and fixing responsibility wherever negligence or dereliction of duty is established. He urged both the Meghalaya and Union governments to review security arrangements along the Dawki sector and implement corrective measures “rather than limiting the response to statements and assurances.”
Clarifying that the concern was not directed against any community, Synrem said: “Our stand is clear—the indigenous people of Meghalaya have every legitimate right to demand that the State’s international borders are effectively secured and that illegal migration does not adversely affect the State’s social, economic and demographic interests.”
He warned that Meghalaya must not be allowed to become a “corridor for illegal entry” and insisted that border security must focus on prevention, detection and accountability—not merely apprehension after the fact.