With political turbulence escalating in neighbouring countries and the recent blast near Delhi’s Red Fort raising nationwide alarm, the Union government has moved to tighten security around the vulnerable Siliguri Corridor—popularly known as the Chicken’s Neck. Surveillance along the narrow stretch of North Bengal is set to be doubled, officials confirmed.
A high-level meeting of the Subsidiary Multi-Agency Centre (SMAC) was held on Saturday at the Central Intelligence Agency office in Siliguri, where representatives of multiple security and intelligence wings assessed current threats and agreed on enhanced vigilance. Siliguri Police Commissioner C. Sudhakar declined to share details, stating, “This is a routine meeting… nothing to be said publicly about a security-related meeting.”
However, senior officials present at the meeting—spanning CISF, BSF, SSB, ITBP, RPF, the Indian Army and Air Force, Military Police, Army Intelligence, State Intelligence, GRP, and major transport authorities—confirmed that the security of the Siliguri Corridor remained the core focus. Sandeep Kumar P.S., Divisional Safety Commissioner of the North-East Frontier Railway’s Katihar Division, noted, “Each agency placed crucial suggestions on surveillance. The corridor’s security was thoroughly discussed.”
The Chicken’s Neck is a narrow strip connecting the mainland to the Northeast and is surrounded by several international borders. Ongoing political unrest in Bangladesh and Nepal has added to intelligence concerns.
In the past two months alone, the SSB apprehended 41 Bangladeshi infiltrators from the Indo-Nepal border. Three others were caught inside the Army’s Bangdubi camp in Bagdogra on suspicion of belonging to Bangladesh’s intelligence agency.
Meanwhile, the BSF detained 19 individuals—suspected infiltrators and cattle smugglers—along the Indo-Bangladesh border over the last three months. Against this backdrop, Union Home Minister Amit Shah recently ordered heightened security measures for the Siliguri corridor, following the blast in Delhi.
According to sources, Saturday’s SMAC meeting resolved to double deployment and surveillance across the corridor and border regions. Agencies were instructed to maintain a tight watch on infiltrators and potential terrorist movements, particularly in the wake of the ongoing SIR (Special Intensive Revision) process.
Digital intelligence and technical surveillance will be central to the upgraded security grid, officials said. The CISF has already increased security checks at Bagdogra Airport, where AI-based passenger verification has begun. Railway security at NJP, Siliguri Junction, Alipurduar and Cooch Behar has also been reinforced by RPF and GRP, with armed guards allocated to key long-distance trains, including Rajdhani and Vande Bharat.
Police patrolling across national and Asian highways in North Bengal has been stepped up as well.
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“We are already on alert across key railway bridges, stations, and highways,” Sandeep Kumar said, adding, “Extra caution is being exercised after the Delhi blast.” The SSB has intensified surveillance along the Indo-Nepal and Indo-Bhutan borders, while the BSF has increased monitoring on the Indo-Bangladesh frontier. Additional troops have been deployed across both borders.
Installation of automatic number plate readers on the Indo-Bangladesh border is progressing rapidly. Border fencing stretches along Indo-Nepal and Indo-Bangladesh routes will also see enhanced patrols. State police have been instructed to strengthen intelligence networks in border-adjacent hubs such as Tenzing Norgay Bus Terminus, PC Mittal Bus Terminus, and densely populated localities. Army Intelligence has likewise been directed to ramp up surveillance activities.
With multiple agencies activating their highest alert protocols, North Bengal's strategic lifeline—the Siliguri Corridor—enters a phase of fortified security amid rising regional and national tensions.
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