Nigerian
The arrested Nigerian, Osita Victor. Image - Northeast Now

A Nigerian citizen was arrested by Tripura Police on Thursday from Agartala Railway Station while he was waiting to board a train for Delhi.

Sub-divisional Police Officer (SDPO) of Amtali, Ajay Kumar Das said, “In the waiting room I saw a foreigner and sat by his side and as a co-passenger asked few questions but he failed to give any satisfactory reply and so, gave my actual identity and as a police officer checked his passport in which his name was written as Osita Victor, age 23 years and from Nigeria. But he did not have any Indian visa or immigration stamp.”

The police officer also said, “Later we brought him to the police station and during preliminary interrogation it came to light that he came to Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. On October 7, he flew from Nigeria’s Lagos to Istanbul in Turkey and reached Dhaka on October 9. He came to Dhaka for the purpose of garment business and even was in a hotel there for 15 days. He also had a return ticket from Dhaka on October 23.”

He also said, “He had no reason to visit India. Who would enter India on October 10 if one comes for some business purpose to Dhaka on October 9?”

“I asked him this question but he could not reply anything. When asked how did he enter India he told that he had entered India through the fencing and on his own risk, but was not ready to speak about who had helped him to cross the border. This is very suspicious and moreover, he has no document for entry into India,” SDPO Das added.

Das also said that they are checking his bags and baggage and since there have been incidents of Nigerians’ involvement in drugs trade so the matter has been given more importance.

The arrested person informed the police that he knows someone in Delhi and came India to meet him.

Meanwhile, police have tried to contact with that person but from the preliminary interrogation, police could not confirm if the Nigerian had some motive or just innocently crossed over the border.

The arrested Nigerian was later handed over to the railway police.

Pinaki Das is Northeast Now Correspondent in Agartala. He can be reached at: [email protected]