Two Bangladeshi nationals arrested by Katigorah police from Assam's Barak river

Katigorah police in Assam's Cachar district arrested two suspected Bangladeshi nationals following a boat chase in the Barak river on Sunday morning.

Salman Ahmed, 22, and Russel Ahmed, 35, hailed from Amanshid at Zakiganj in the Sylhet district of neighbouring Bangladesh.

The arrested duo allegedly jumped into the Barak river in an attempt to escape a police raid on the residence of one Ziaur Rahman at Harinagar Part 3 in Katigora in the Cachar district bordering Bangladesh.

The duo were staying at Rahman's place and, upon learning of the raid, they tried to flee by jumping into the river.

Reports from Silchar said the police apprehended the duo after chasing them by boat. Two policemen were injured during the operation.

A video showed the arrested duo, each dressed in a lungi and T-shirt, being taken away by two armed policemen from the local hospital after their medical examination.

Zakiganj is a sub-district in the Sylhet district of Bangladesh. It sits along the border where the Barak river enters from India and bifurcates (splits) at Amalshid into the Surma and the Kushiyara rivers.

Katigorah, bordering Sylhet district, is about 41km from Silchar, the district headquarters of Cachar district. Cachar and Karimganj districts in South Assam share the border with Bangladesh.

The state police have intensified its crackdown on suspected Bangladeshis. Between October 6 and 7, the police had arrested 18 Bangladeshi nationals from Guwahati on charges of entering India without valid papers.

Five of them were picked up from the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Express during a routine check at the Guwahati Railway station on October 6. They entered Assam through Dawki in Meghalaya. A day later, 13 more Bangladeshi nationals were arrested in Guwahati. They were staying in Guwahati after returning from Srinagar.