Agartala, Apr 11 (IANS): Three Bangladeshi women, who were detained in March 2020 for illegal entry into Tripura, went missing from custody in the state's northern Unokoti district, police said on Sunday.

A search has been launched to nab the fleeing foreign nationals.

A police official said that Istamur Ali and three women - Lalmati Rani Sarkar, Janata Rani Sarkar, and Khela Rani Sarkar, all resident of Nabiganj under Habiganj district of Bangladesh, were arrested from Kailashahar in March 2020 when they, after entering Tripura without any passports, had tried to go to neighbouring Assam.

The police official said that after completion of their jail term seven months ago all the four Bangladeshis were under the custody of Unokoti district administration and the concerned authority, in consultation with Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Agartala, was scheduled to repatriate them on Sunday.

"Just before their deportation, the officials found that three women, lodged in a school hostel, were missing. Police launched a search operation on Sunday to locate the missing Bangladeshi nationals," the official told IANS.

Ali was, however, repatriated to Bangladesh on Sunday.