New Delhi: As per government data presented in parliament, there has been no unusual increase in apprehension of ‘illegal infiltrators’ along the Bangladesh border in 2019 in comparison with the trend observed in the past six years.According to a report in The Hindu, the number of people apprehended by the Border Security Force (BSF) declined from 3,426 in 2015 to 1,118 in 2018. Last year witnessed a marginal increase and 1,351 persons were caught attempting to enter India illegally. Up until February 22, 2020, 183 persons were caught trying to enter India illegally.India shares a border with Bangladesh that is 4096.7 km long which is guarded by the BSF.In 2014, there was a sharp increase, with 2,455 persons being caught attempting to enter India illegally as opposed to the previous year when only 209 persons were caught.Earlier this year in January, the Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) said that it had intercepted 445 people returning to the country from India in the last two months. Another report in the Hindustan Times noted that the number of people caught trying to cross over to Bangladesh from India had increased by over 50%.According to data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), a total of 2,971 people had been arrested by the Border Security Force (BSF) in 2018 as compared to 1,800 in 2017.Also read: With SC Set to Hear Petition, Killings at Bangladesh Border Back in FocusLast year in November, according to a report in a Dhaka-based daily, almost 329 people, including children and women, were taken into custody by the BGB for trespassing into the country from India in three weeks.As per the report, they claimed to be Bangladeshi citizens but were detained after they couldn’t show any documentary proof to back their claim. “They also claimed they fled from India fearing harassment and detention by the police there,” the report said.On March 3, in response to a question, the Union minister of state for home Nityanand Rai said that “some infiltrators are able to enter in a clandestine and surreptitious manner, mainly due to difficult riverine terrain in parts of international border with Bangladesh which are not amenable to physical fencing.”According to the government’s reply, fencing along the 900 km border with Bangladesh had not been completed due to “difficult terrain, riverine and marshy land, short working season, land acquisition problems, public protests and objections by Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB).”Last year, it came to light that the Centre was once again going to fail to meet the deadline set to fence the India-Bangladesh border along the Northeastern state of Mizoram.