Agartala, Aug 29 (IANS) Theft cases involving Bangladeshi youths have been rising sharply in Tripura, police said Thursday.

 "In 2003, 273 cases of theft were reported in various police stations of Tripura, and last year (2012) 568 such cases were registered," a police official told IANS.

"Up to July this year, 319 cases of theft have been recorded. Mostly Bangladeshi youths were involved in these theft cases," he said.

Tripura shares an 856-km border with Bangladesh. Around 80 percent of the border has been fenced. A large portion of the border is unfenced, porous, mountainous and riverine, making it advantageous for anti-social elements.

Police said cross-border criminals not only use the unfenced areas to enter India, but also climb over the fence using ladders.

Young Bangladeshi boys are "hired" and sent to Tripura for various crimes including theft, police said.

"After stealing various materials and cash from remote habitations and vacant houses near the border areas, these youths deposit the materials with their employer against some daily wages," West Tripura district police chief Bijoy Nag told reporters.

"Recently, three young Bangladeshi thieves demonstrated in front of police how they enter the Indian territory, break into locked houses and then dispatch the stolen material to their Bangladeshi bosses," he said.

Tripura Police have asked the Border Security Force (BSF) to tighten vigil along the international border.

Police said they were not much concerned over militancy, but theft cases involving Bangladeshi youths kept them busy.

According to police records, there were 184 militancy-related incidents in 2004, while only 15 and five such incidents occurred in 2012 and this year so far, respectively.

"In 2004, around 102 civilians and security force personnel were killed in Tripura by terrorists while no one has been killed since last year by extremists," police said.