Shillong: The Hynniewtrep Youths’ Council wants answers. They are demanding a full review of border security in Meghalaya after 27 Bangladeshi nationals entered the country undetected through the Dawki sector. These migrants traveled across the state and reached Assam before law enforcement caught them. The group included men, women, and minors who lacked valid entry documents.
Assam Police teamed up with the Government Railway Police and the Railway Protection Force to execute the arrests. Officers first snagged 12 people at the Assam State Transport Corporation campus in Paltan Bazar, Guwahati. This group spilled the beans on 15 others riding the Guwahati-Jammu Tawi Express. Railway police intercepted that second group near the Rangiya junction before pulling them off the train at Bongaigaon station.
The HYC is pushing for a time-bound probe into the entire smuggling operation. They want authorities to identify any brokers, transporters, or touts who helped the group move through India. The council released a statement Monday saying the breach raises "serious questions about the effectiveness of border surveillance and the preparedness of agencies responsible for securing Meghalaya’s international boundary."
They are calling for ironclad surveillance on footpaths and known crossing points. The HYC expects a total audit of all security gaps along the Indo-Bangladesh line to prevent this from happening again.
Updated at 23rd September 2026 at 11:30am
HYC president Roykupar Synrem blasted the Border Security Force and state police for the security lapse, noting that Dawki is a busy commercial hub, not some remote wilderness. He questioned how 27 people could ride through the state to Jorabat without triggering a single alarm. The group also reported that its Shella Area Unit recently cornered three other Bangladeshi nationals and dragged them to the local BSF and police station for processing.
Beyond the migration issue, the HYC is fanning the flames of a new border flare-up in Maikhuli. Villagers report that people from the Assam side tried to seize a local playground and land near a fishery pond on September 19. Jirang MLA Sosthenes Sohtun has demanded more permanent police outposts to protect the area. Synrem claims the 2022 memorandum of understanding is a paper settlement that fails to address actual ground realities, leaving residents in places like Lapangap and Mukroh without protection as officials from Assam continue to push for Census and land revision work.
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