BGB steps up border surveillance; 10 remain on Panchagarh zero line

The Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has further strengthened surveillance along the Hapania border in Sapahar upazila of Naogaon, said Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Ariful Islam Masum, commanding officer of Naogaon Battalion-16 BGB.

"We have increased patrols. We have increased manpower. We have made the local people aware. We have told ordinary people to inform us if they notice anything suspicious," he said.

He made the remarks in the wake of recent attempts by the BSF, India's Border Security Force, to push people living in India into Bangladesh.

Earlier, the attempted pushback of 17 women by Friday night sparked widespread discussion. Many of them spoke to Bangladeshi journalists from the zero point along the border.

One of them said, "My two children have fevers. Some people have also sustained head injuries. BSF personnel forced us into a vehicle. I grabbed their feet and begged them not to hand us over to the BDR [now BGB]. The BDR would shoot us. We were not living there as fugitives. We were there legally. Yet they pushed us out. Some local Indian men also snatched two phones and four passports from us."

She had been stranded near pillar 238/MP at the Hapania border in Sapahar upazila. BSF members from India's Pannachhara camp allegedly tried to force her into Bangladesh illegally through that border point.

Among those stranded was Mariam Khatun, a girl aged between 10 and 12. She had also remained trapped in a state of uncertainty along the border for 10 days. Her parents were being forced to leave India. 

The child said she had come there with her parents and used to live in Kolkata's Dolanagar area. They had been in such a situation for 10 days. 

I didn't want to come here," Mariam said. "I wanted to stay with my grandmother. She lives in a rented house in Kolkata. But my mother said I couldn't be left behind and had to come too. Now I'm in trouble. I never imagined this would happen." 

"My two children have fevers. Some people have also sustained head injuries. BSF personnel forced us into a vehicle. I grabbed their feet and begged them not to hand us over to the BDR [now BGB]. The BDR would shoot us. We were not living there as fugitives. We were there legally. Yet they pushed us out. Some local Indian men also snatched two phones and four passports from us." - An Indian woman stranded at the Hapania border, Naogaon

The aggression at gunpoint along the border has created panic among these stranded people. Children are particularly anxious, fearing what might happen at any moment.

Jannati Khatun, another girl child, used to live with her parents in the Dum Dum area of North 24 Parganas district in India's West Bengal. In a cruel twist of fate, she said the BSF had forcibly brought her there.

"They were threatening our landlord," the child said. "Because of that, the landlord told us to leave the house. Then they caught us and brought us here."

Jannati's mother said, "There are 17 of us here in total — men, women and children. My husband is a cancer patient. We are now facing extreme uncertainty at the border with him. Yet we voted there several times."

However, the BSF ultimately failed in its attempt to push them into Bangladesh illegally. Mahbub Alam, a resident of the Sapahar border area, said, "Even around 11:00pm on Friday night, I saw BGB members guarding the area. Later, deep into the night, BSF members dragged them back towards India."

According to the BGB, the BSF tried to push 17 people — six men, six women and five children — into Bangladesh through this border, but failed. After nearly 19 hours of effort, the individuals were taken back into Indian territory around 1:00am on Friday night.

Naogaon 16 BGB said the BSF had detained them from different areas of India late at night. They were then sent towards Bangladesh through the Sapahar border area. Walking nearly seven kilometres through boro paddy fields, they reached the Kalumdanga Choumohoni market in Sapahar at dawn on Friday and took a rest there. When local residents saw them in the morning and heard about the attempted push-in, they informed the nearby Kalumdanga camp.

Bangabari border

At the Bangabari border in Gomostapur upazila of Chapainawabganj, 28 people who had been staying near the zero line for the past two days have been taken back inside India by the BSF.

Naogaon Battalion-16 BGB said the 28 individuals had been staying around 50 yards inside India from the zero line. At present, their presence or movement is no longer being observed within 150 yards of the border. It is believed that the BSF took them back inside India sometime late on Friday night.

Earlier, at dawn on 4 June, the BSF tried to push 28 Bangladeshis into the country through the Bangabari border. However, the attempt failed due to the alert position and immediate action of the BGB. The BGB has since increased its activities along the border severalfold.

Attempt also foiled in Lalmonirhat

The BSF also failed in its attempt to push 33 people into Bangladesh through three separate points along the Lalmonirhat border. Local residents said the individuals could not enter Bangladesh due to the BGB's immediate intervention.

The incident took place early on Friday in border areas of Hatibandha, Patgram and Aditmari upazilas.

According to the BGB, attempts were made to push in 11 people through the border area under Borkhata BOP in Hatibandha upazila, 10 people through the Poyshottibari BOP area in Patgram upazila, and 12 more people through the Durgapur border in Aditmari upazila.

After receiving information, BGB patrol teams quickly reached the spots and took preventive measures along the border. Because of the BGB's firm position, the attempted push-ins failed and the individuals could not enter Bangladesh.

Crisis continues in Panchagarh

In Panchagarh Sadar upazila, 10 people, including women and children, have been staying inside Indian territory across the zero line at the South Pradhanpara border in Haribhasa union since early Friday. The situation developed following an attempt to push them into Bangladesh. 

However, no solution has yet been reached as the people  remain under the open sky.

According to local sources, the group includes five men, two women and three children. Since early Friday, they have been staying on a piece of farmland near the border. The land being waterlogged, 

Earlier, the BSF tried to push the 10 people into Bangladesh, but the BGB resisted the attempt. Facing obstruction from the BGB, they could not enter Bangladeshi territory. They are currently staying inside India, across the zero line.

Since the incident, the BGB has remained on alert along the border. Alongside monitoring the situation, communication between the border forces of the two countries is continuing. Several flag meetings have been held at company and battalion levels over the matter, but no solution has been reached. On Saturday afternoon, a battalion-level flag meeting lasting around 20 minutes was held, but it ended without any decision.

Lieutenant Colonel Md Sirajul Islam, commanding officer of Nilphamari Battalion-56 BGB, told journalists that he had held a spot meeting with the commander of 93 BSF and requested that the individuals be taken back. However, the BSF refused to take them back.