look news india
There has been a stir in Kishanganj, a sensitive border district of Bihar, after an American girl was detained by security agencies near the India-Nepal international border. The strategic importance of Kishanganj, located very close to ‘Chicken Neck’ (Siliguri Corridor), is considered highly sensitive from national security point of view. The activism of a foreign national, especially a woman from a western country, in such an area without any apparent local contact or valid local permission alerted both the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) deployed on the border and the local Bihar Police.
As soon as the incident came to light, questions began to arise in the security department as to what this American citizen was doing in this remote border area of India and whether she was planning to cross the border through an unauthorized route. However, after the initial investigation, the matter took a dramatic turn when a huge contradiction was seen in the statements and claims of the SSB, which was monitoring Seema on this entire incident, and the Kishanganj District Police, which was investigating the case.
During patrolling, soldiers of the battalion of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), which is responsible for the security of the border, found this American woman roaming in a suspicious condition near Galgaliya/Panitanki or the adjacent border check post.
As per SSB sources:
-
The woman had reached very close to those sensitive pillars of the border, where the movement of any third-country national without valid documents and formal immigration stamp is completely prohibited.
-
There is an open border system for citizens of India and Nepal, but for foreign nationals, entry or exit is allowed only through designated authorized land immigration checkposts (ICPs) after passport and visa checks.
-
The primary suspicion of the SSB was that the girl was trying to cross the border illegally to Nepal or enter India unauthorizedly through Nepal. As suspicion deepened, the soldiers stopped him, interrogated him and handed him over to the local police station for necessary legal action.
When the Kishanganj police and the local intelligence branch, after being handed over by the SSB, interrogated the woman in detail and searched her belongings, the police’s version was quite different:
-
Valid passport and visa to India: According to police officials, during the investigation, her original American passport and a valid visa issued by the Government of India were recovered from the American girl. That means his presence in India was not legally illegal.
-
Misunderstanding of language and root: During police interrogation, the girl claimed that she had come to India for tourism and cultural studies. While traveling to Darjeeling, Siliguri or any part of the North-East, due to wrong direction of public transport or taxi, she inadvertently ended up in the border rural area.
-
Ignorance of the rules of visiting Nepal: Police say that many times foreign tourists have the misconception that just as Indian and Nepali citizens cross the border without a visa, they too can go on foot. No objectionable device, suspicious map or espionage related material was found from the girl.
The difference in the claims of both the agencies in this entire matter has raised many questions:
-
Attempted intrusion vs unintentional disorientation: While the SSB was considering it a deliberate violation of border security protocols and an attempt at ‘suspicious infiltration’, the local police was calling it a simple case of ‘route confusion’ of the foreign tourist.
-
Immigration Clearance Process: If the woman had valid documents, why did she take the deserted border trail instead of going to the authorized immigration counter at Bagdogra or Panitanki? The security agencies are still not completely satisfied on this point.
-
Sensitivity of sensitive corridor: The Kishanganj and Siliguri corridor is surrounded by international borders (Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan). Unauthorized movement of any foreigner in such an area is a cause of concern for the security agencies, due to which the SSB did not want to show any laxity.
Considering the sensitivity of the matter, Central Intelligence Agencies (IB) and Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) have also come into action. Police have contacted the concerned embassy and immigration department to verify the validity of the woman’s passport, visa and her previous travel history to India. Officials say that formalities will continue to be completed until green signal is received from all security agencies and physical verification of his statements is done. If deliberate violation of security rules is found at any level, further legal action will be taken under the Foreigners Act.