Bangladesh likely to raise issue of India's border drone use at BGB-BSF meet in Delhi

Bangladesh is likely to raise the issue of India's use of drones for security and surveillance along their shared border at the 57th edition of the BGB-BSF DG-level meeting scheduled to begin in New Delhi on Monday (8 June), according to media reports.

The four-day meeting will take place amidst rising tensions on the border, especially those involving India's Border Security Force and the Border Guard Bangladesh, against the backdrop of West Bengal's new BJP government's stepped-up campaign against what it calls undocumented immigrants from Bangladesh. 

The BSF uses Israeli-origin tethered drones and radar-mounted unmanned aerial vehicles or UAVs (developed in collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organisation) to monitor challenging, porous and dense forest areas, particularly the riverine stretches in the Dhubri sector of Assam, North East News reports.

The BSF is in the process of adding AI-powered surveillance grids across the border, the daily said, adding this unified platform assimilates video streams from drones, CCTVs and ground sensors to detect illegal border-crossing hotspots.

Ahead of the meeting, the BSF said it will flag issues related to alleged assault on BSF personnel and Indians by Bangladesh nationals and breaching of the frontier fence.

The 57th edition of the bi-annual director general-level border coordination conference between the BSF and the BGB will be held at the BSF headquarters on Lodhi Road from June 8-11.

The BGB team will be headed by DG Major General Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui, while the other side will be led by BSF chief Praveen Kumar, the BSF said in a statement on Wednesday (3 June).

"During the course of the conference, discussions will be held on prevention of assault on BSF personnel and Indian civilians by Bangladesh nationals, to prevent trans-border crimes, prevent entry of Bangladeshi criminals into India, incidents of fence breaching by Bangladesh nationals and construction of fence," said the statement.

"The discussions will also include action against Indian insurgent groups (IIGs) in Bangladesh, issues related to border infrastructure, confidence-building measures and other issues," the statement added.

The meeting will be the first between the two border forces since the BNP government took charge early this year.

The meeting next week assumes significance as New Delhi's pitch on the issue of infiltration along the Bangladesh border has in recent days become increasingly louder through the remarks by Home Minister Amit Shah, who announced the government will face a graded  "detect, delete and deport" strategy.

India shares a 4,096km international border with Bangladesh, of which about 860km remains unfenced, including 174.51km of a "not feasible for fencing" gap.

The last meeting between the two sides was held in Dhaka in August 2025.

The DG-level border talks between the countries were an annual event between 1975 and 1992 but became bi-annual in 1993, with either side alternatively travelling to the national capitals of New Delhi and Dhaka.