India has heightened security along its border with Nepal after central agencies sounded an alert on the possibility of a large number of Bangladeshi nationals infiltrating into India through the porous frontier with the Himalayan nation, sources in the Union home ministry said.

“Intelligence reports have suggested that a large number of Bangladeshi nationals have taken shelter in Nepal’s border areas and are attempting to infiltrate into India with the help of touts. The Nepal route is emerging as a preferred corridor for infiltrators from Bangladesh amid the tightening of security along the India-Bangladesh frontier,” said a ministry official.

According to him, touts have been using the Raxaul route in East Champaran district of Bihar to send illegal immigrants into India. Besides, the traffickers have also tried to send in illegal immigrants through Bahraich, Gonda and Balrampur districts in Uttar Pradesh.

“Amid the ongoing volatile situation in Bangladesh, Indian security agencies, including the Border Security Force, have foiled several infiltration attempts into Bengal and the northeastern states, prompting traffickers to look for alternative Nepal routes to send in illegal immigrants from Bangladesh,” the official said.

On January 1, three Bangladeshi nationals were arrested at the gate of the Raxaul immigration check-post while attempting to enter Indian territory with the help of an Indian middleman using forged Indian visas. They were identified as Shahinur Rahman of Jashore district, Mohammad Sabuj of Bhola district and Mohammad Firoz Mathbari of Bagerhat district in Bangladesh.

Last month, central security agencies had sounded an alert on the volatile situation in Bangladesh following inputs suggesting that Pakistan’s ISI and Islamist terror outfits could try to export terror to India and create a major disturbance in the Northeast.

Sources said the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), which guards the India-Nepal frontier, has been instructed to intensify patrolling along the open border.

The SSB, which reports to the Union home ministry, is tasked with guarding India’s 1,751km-long border with Nepal, crisscrossing Bengal, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Sikkim.

“The force has been put on heightened alert and has been directed to step up vigil in the frontier areas and enhance surveillance along the border,” said an Intelligence Bureau official.