Image used for representative purpose only.
| Photo Credit: BISWARANJAN ROUT

The Odisha Police have issued a general alert along the coast directing ground staff to remain vigilant for any potential infiltration through sea routes due to the unrest in Bangladesh.

According to a top police official, the ground staff have been asked to immediately report any suspicious activities along the coast. Besides, fishermen have also been alerted and asked to report information about foreign boats, if sighted, in the Bay of Bengal along the coast.

Siddharth Kataria, Kendrapara Superintendent of Police, said, “As part of proactive steps, three marine police stations in the district have been ordered to stay vigilant in view of the instability in Bangladesh. However, there has been no particular warning to the district police from Central agencies.”

Bengali-speaking settlers have been residing along the coasts of Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Bhadrak, and Balasore districts. There is a possibility that undocumented migrants could seek refuge in a population that is sympathetic to their situation, allowing them to blend more easily into a larger community, a security expert said.

There have been occasions in the past when fishing boats from Bangladesh strayed into Indian waters in the Bay of Bengal, leading to the fishermen being taken into custody.

In 2005, 1,551 people from Kendrapara district were officially identified as Bangladeshis and were ordered to leave the country.