Bangladesh and India set for DG-level border talks in New Delhi

The border guards of India and Bangladesh are expected to hold their bi-annual Director General-level talks in New Delhi next week in the first such meeting after the BNP government took charge in Dhaka earlier this year.

A delegation of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) led by its Director General (DG) Maj Gen Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui is expected to be in Delhi between 8 and 11 June for the talks with their counterpart Border Security Force (BSF).

The Indian side will be led by BSF DG Praveen Kumar.

Issues related to border fencing, cross-border crimes, infiltration, alleged border killings by BSF, trans-border crimes and the handing over of illegal Bangladeshi migrants are likely to be part of the agenda for the talks, a senior BSF official said, requesting anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to the media.

The BGB is expected to flag issues related to the alleged killing of its nationals by the BSF.

The BSF has refuted this charge, saying its troops resort to a graded response of firing non-lethal ammunition followed by lethal rounds in the face of a grave threat to its troops or Indian locals.

According to government data from August 2025, a total of 1,647.69 km of the 2,216 km border in West Bengal has been fenced and, of this, 112.78 km cannot be fenced as it is not feasible due to geographical features such as water bodies and the Sundarbans mangrove area. A total of 456.22 km is feasible for fencing works.

A joint record of discussions will be signed between the two sides on 11 June, BSF officials said.

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

The forthcoming meeting assumes significance as the Indian Home Minister Amit Shah has lately underlined that India will not allow infiltration under a 3D policy of detection, detention and deportation of illegal immigrants.

More than half of the over 4,000 km India-Bangladesh border is shared by the state of West Bengal (2,216.7 km), where a new BJP government led by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has recently taken charge.

Adhikari has also reiterated the federal government's 3D approach against infiltrators present in the state, and his government has handed over large tracts of land to the BSF for the erection of a strong fence.

Four other states share a border with Bangladesh — Tripura (856 km), Meghalaya (443 km), Assam (262 km) and Mizoram (318 km).

Issues related to border infrastructure, construction of a single-row fence (SRF), and air violations (including drone intrusions) may also be part of the talks from the Indian side, the sources said.

The DG-level border talks were held annually between 1975 and 1992, and they were made a bi-annual event in 1993, with either side alternatively travelling to the national capitals of New Delhi and Dhaka.