A 25-year-old man was arrested in Tripura while attempting to cross into Bangladesh illegally, officials said here on Friday, adding that he claimed to be a Pakistani-born Bangladeshi national who had travelled across India.

The official said the youth, named Ayan Alam was detained by border villagers at Jalefa in South Tripura district on Thursday night and was handed over to the police later.

Alam’s mobile phone, a few thousand rupees and some Indian documents, including an Aadhaar card, were recovered from his possession. The documents were being examined to corroborate the truth of his confession and his Pakistan connection, the official told the media.

“During interrogation, the detainee said that he was a Pakistan-born Bangladeshi citizen. Thorough interrogation revealed that he was from Mayarampur village of Brahmanbaria district of Bangladesh,” the official said.

Alam confessed that his parents had shifted from Bangladesh to Pakistan 25 years ago and he was born in Pakistan, the official said. Quoting the youth, the official added that the Pakistani authorities had taken action against his family due to the non-availability of valid documents and Ayan’s father returned to Bangladesh with him in 2011. His mother, four brothers and four sisters, however, stayed back in Pakistan.

The official said that during questioning, Ayan also confessed that he illegally entered India (through the West Bengal border) from Bangladesh in 2014 and then moved to Kerala, where he worked for a company for two years before moving to Delhi.

The youth claimed that recently he had gone to Kashmir and had unsuccessfully tried to cross into Pakistan. He then returned to the national capital where the Delhi Police Special Branch detained him on March 15.

He told the police that he was dispatched on a train to Agartala after several weeks of interrogation and he reached Tripura on April 18.

A case was registered against him with the local police station. The police official said that Alam is a Bangladeshi citizen and his mother, who is in Pakistan, is the only known Pakistani link he has.

“Alam’s presence in the Indian territory despite heavy security along the India-Bangladesh border in view of the Lok Sabha elections and any possible angle of his involvement with any unlawful organisation or outfit are being investigated,” the official said.

(The story has been published via a syndicated feed with a modified headline.)