BSF reviews borders security, nabs 11 Bangladeshis while infiltrating into India

Eleven Bangladeshi nationals have been apprehended while trying to infiltrate into India through the international border in West Bengal, Tripura and Meghalaya, the Border Security Force (BSF) said on Sunday (August 11).

They are being questioned and will be handed over to the respective state police for further legal action, a BSF spokesperson said.

He also said the BSF was in regular touch with its counterpart Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) to sort out mutual issues, especially about the prevention of atrocities on Indian nationals and people from minority communities in Bangladesh.

Home Ministry panel

Last week, the Union Home Ministry formed a committee under the BSF additional director general (ADG) (Eastern Command) to look into the safety and security issues being faced by minorities in Bangladesh following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government.

The BSF is the designated armed force to guard the 4,096-km-long India-Bangladesh border that runs the five eastern states of West Bengal (2,217 km), Tripura (856 km), Meghalaya (443 km), Assam (262 km) and Mizoram (318 km). The force has been on a "high alert" all along this front since the fall of the Hasina government and amid the turmoil in the neighbouring country.

The border guards have thwarted a number of infiltration attempts and sent back thousands of Bangladeshi people over the last few days with the help of the BGB at many points along the Bangladesh frontier.

Security review meet

The South Bengal Frontier of the force headquartered in Kolkata said in a statement that its Eastern Command ADG Ravi Gandhi chaired an operational conference on Saturday to review the security along the border "amid the current unrest in Bangladesh" and the upcoming Independence Day on August 15.

It said, “11 Bangladeshi nationals have been apprehended on the border while infiltrating into India. Two each were nabbed from West Bengal and Tripura borders while seven were apprehended from Meghalaya border.”

The spokesperson said, "Detailed deliberations were held during the meeting to further enhance border control, security and management." "Besides, it was decided to continue the close collaboration with the BGB," he said.

Flag meetings with BGB

The BSF has been holding flag meetings with the BGB to sort out mutual issues amicably, especially for the prevention of atrocities on Indian nationals and people from minority communities in Bangladesh and the BGB has been responding well, he said.

The force has also directed its personnel to ensure that there is no infiltration from Bangladesh and they should use "non-lethal weapons" if required.

The Tripura Frontier of the force also said that its head, an inspector general rank officer, has briefed the troops "about the incident of jailbreak in Qasimpur, Bangladesh and exhorted them to maintain high vigil to prevent any infiltration attempt" while touring the border areas on August 9-10.

Following Hasina's exit, an interim government has been sworn in Dhaka under the leadership of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus.

(With agency inputs)