Hume pipes are the favoured mode of illegal transport, say abducted Karimganj men

Guwahati: While cracking the abduction case of two Karimganj men, police have found out that hume pipes placed along the India-Bangladesh border serves as the most favoured means of illegal transport. As per the received information, the 15-m long hume pipes facilitate convenient passage for illegal infiltrators and cattle smugglers without having to go through the double-layered barbed fences along the international border. The Border Security Forces (BSF) and state police are now working jointly to investigate the matter, police said. 

Reportedly, the hume pipes are cleverly placed under the road to drain out rain water in the area. While one end of the pipes opens onto a trench in a garden, the other end navigates the smugglers, cattle and infiltrators to seamlessly cross the border. It was revealed to the police that trenches were smartly covered with tree branches so as to camouflage and fool security forces.

Interestingly, the information was disclosed to the police by two abducted men from the Dalgaon village under Neelam Bazaar Police station in Assam's Karimganj district. The two men, identified as Alim Uddin and Dilwar Hussain, were allegedly abducted and taken to Bangladesh. On paying up the ransom demanded by the kidnappers, Alim and Dilwar returned back to their homes. Later on Friday they led the police forces and revealed all the information as part of the case investigation. 

Regarding the matter, Karimganj Superintendent of Police, Mayank Kumar said, "We received an FIR regarding a person who was abducted to the other side of the border, following which we went to the area. We can only say anything about the secret tunnel only after proper investigation. There are some serious issues in some particular areas. We have taken up the matter with the BSF and intelligence agencies." 

It is worth mentioning that earlier cases of smuggling goods and infiltrating across borders had come to the notice of police authorities in Meghalaya and Karimganj. In June 2017, the Meghalaya BSF had seized 249 cattles and contraband items worth total of 82 lakhs from the border. Later in May 2018, Karimganj police caught two Bangladeshi smugglers who were entering the Indian territory through the hume pipes. 

Further enquiry also revealed that the cattles taken for smuggling through the hume pipes were given fattening drugs by smugglers once they reached Bangladesh. 

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