India is believed to be drawing up plans to release venomous snakes and crocodiles into its border with Bangladesh in a bid to tackle the country's migrant crisis.
Local media reports suggest India's Border Security Force (BSF) has issued an internal memo asking officers stationed along the border to weigh up the practicality of the move from an “operational perspective”.
The document refers to the addition of the dangerous creatures as a “biological barrier” for Bangladeshi migrants attempting to break into the country from areas without physical barriers.
The memo allegedly states the plan was ordered by Indian home affairs minister Amit Shah.
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Mr Shah serves as a chief strategist for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and is a close ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Since 2014, the Indian Government has attempted to erect fencing along the 2,500-mile border. However, large stretches remain unprotected.
The gaps along India’s eastern border are located in the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram and West Bengal.
It is estimated that around 530 miles of the frontier is currently undefended.
The BSF allegedly issued an internal memo asking officers stationed along the border to weigh up the plan's practicality
|GETTY
Frequent flooding means around 90 miles of the border is either extremely difficult - or impossible - to fence off.
In total, it is crossed by 54 rivers, including the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Kushiyara, as well as their tributaries.
Much of the existing fencing is either in poor condition or completely broken.
The issue of Bangladeshi migration has been a longstanding flashpoint in Indian politics.
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The document refers to the addition of the dangerous creatures as a 'biological barrier' for Bangladeshi migrants
|GETTY
During the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, around 10 million people crossed into India from the east.
Official census data suggests roughly three million Bangladeshi nationals currently reside in the country.
However, some Indian officials estimate the number living in India illegally could be as high as 20 million.
Since coming to power in 2014, Mr Modi’s administration has taken an increasingly tough stance on illegal migration.
Mr Modi’s administration has taken an increasingly tough stance on illegal migration in recent years
| PASenior figures within the BJP have labelled Bangladeshis - who are mostly Muslim - as “infiltrators”.
They have also claimed they pose a threat to India’s Hindu-majority demographics.
Islam is the country’s second-largest religion in India, accounting for around 18 per cent of the population, or more than 200 million people.
Human rights activists have repeatedly criticised Mr Modi’s Government, claiming it unfairly targets the Muslim minority.
According to Human Rights Watch, more than 1,500 Muslims - 0.00075 per cent of the religion's Indian population - were expelled between May 7 and June 15 last year.
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