SABROOM: The Sabroom Court on July 27 sentenced a 65-year-old Pakistani woman, identified as Louise Nigat Arthur Bhanu, to two years’ imprisonment along with a fine of ₹10,000, in a case involving illegal entry into India.
The woman was arrested at Sabroom railway station on the night of October 11 last year while allegedly attempting to cross into Bangladesh via the Kanchenjunga Express route through Siliguri. A resident of Lahore, Pakistan, she was reportedly serving a 15-year sentence in Kathmandu, Nepal, after being convicted in a major cocaine trafficking case in 2014, in which she and another woman were arrested with a large consignment allegedly being routed from Pakistan to Nigeria via Nepal.
She is believed to have escaped from Kathmandu jail last September amid unrest linked to Nepal’s Gen Z protests, after which she reportedly travelled through Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal before reaching Tripura — reportedly without valid travel documents at any stage.
Her undetected movement across several states has raised fresh questions over border and internal security vigilance. Following the recording of evidence, the Sabroom Court delivered its verdict, convicting her under relevant provisions of law.