NEW DELHI: As many as 21,348 infiltrators were deported and 9,145 arrested by Indian authorities along the border with Bangladesh in the past five years since 2015, the government informed the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

As many as 5,930 infiltrators were arrested on Indo-Bangladesh border by Border Security Force (BSF) in 2015, 5,147 in 2016, 4,706 in 2017, 3,390 in 2018 and 2,175 in 2019, minister of state for home Nityanand Rai said in reply to a question.

He added that 3,426 infiltrators were deported along the same border in 2015, 2,075 in 2016, 1,175 in 2017, 1,118 in 2018 and 1,351 in 2019.

The government said it had adopted a multi-pronged approach — including round-the-clock surveillance and patrolling on the borders and establishment of observation post; construction of border fencing & floodlighting; introduction of modern and hi-tech surveillance equipment; upgradation of intelligence setup and enhanced coordination with the state governments and concerned intelligence agencies — to tackle infiltration.

Also, said Reddy, technological solutions were being used for vulnerable areas where physical fencing is not feasible, on a pilot basis along Indo-Pakistan Border and Indo-Bangladesh Border. The technological solutions are based on integration of sensors and surveillance equipment like radars, day and night vision cameras etc in a network architecture with command and control system.

