Kolkata:

The BSF on Tuesday rejected reports that the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has taken control of a 5-km stretch of land belonging to India along the International Border as “baseless and irresponsible”.

In a statement, the BSF South Bengal Frontier said the reports that appeared in a section of the Bangladeshi press lacked “truth and merit”.

“The area in question is on the Indian side, in Ranghat village of Bagda block, North 24 Parganas district. The International Boundary (IB) runs along the Kodaliya River, which is well-demarcated by reference pillars on both sides. The status of the IB and the duty pattern of the BSF have remained unchanged for decades,” the statement said.

It also refuted claims that BGB personnel had started 24-hour patrolling the area using motorised boats and ATVs since December 19.

“These reports are nothing but concocted stories. The BSF and BGB continue to perform their duties on their respective sides of the river, which serves as the IB,” he said.

The BSF said the area is unfenced and prone to smuggling and infiltration by Bangladeshi nationals.

Strict measures have been taken to curb such activities, bringing infiltration attempts in the region down to negligible levels, it said.

“Not an inch of Indian land has been, or will be, taken over by the counterpart. Both the BSF and BGB are peacefully dominating their respective areas in accordance with the ‘India-Bangladesh Border Guidelines, 1975’, ensuring the integrity of the IB is maintained,” it said.

The reports had attributed the the claims to the newly-appointed commanding officer of the 58 BGB Lt Col Rafique Islam.

“Such false and fabricated claims will only erode the goodwill between the two border-guarding forces,” the BSF said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Kolkata:

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is facing criticism from Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly Suvendu Adhikari for shifting the blame to the Border Security Force (BSF) regarding infiltration in the state.

Mr Adhikari accused Ms Banerjee of indulging in “low-level politics” by blaming the BSF for infiltration, stating that the security forces serve the nation, not the government.

“The security forces serve the nation and not the government. They are the protectors of the nation. The way you have blamed our soldiers for the infiltration happening in West Bengal in the last few days displays the lowest level of your politics,” Mr Adhikari wrote in the letter.

On Thursday, Mamata Banerjee alleged that the Border Security Force (BSF) was facilitating militants and infiltrators from Bangladesh to enter the state and further stated that because of this there were disruptions in the region.

In his letter, Mr Adhikari termed the Chief Minister’s comment an insult to security forces.

“Allegations and counter-allegations indeed occur in politics. But dragging security forces into it, insulting them and passing the buck for your failures to them is nothing but substandard politics. This is an insult to the 75,000 personnel of the CAPFS, 33,000 BSF personnel in Bengal and all the soldiers of the nation,” he said.

Open Letter to the Chief Minister of West Bengal; Smt. Mamata Banerjee, regarding the irresponsible and derogatory remarks made by her on the role of the @BSF_India concerning infiltration at the India Bangladesh Border:- pic.twitter.com/KMrZrNmNAW

— Suvendu Adhikari (@SuvenduWB) January 4, 2025

“It is deeply painful to see our valiant soldiers being insulted. Our security forces risk their lives to protect the borders of our nation and the citizens regardless of whether it is shivering cold, searing heat, tempestuous rain or a disaster. The nation will never forget your insulting words about our soldiers,” he added.

He pointed out that a major stretch of the country’s border is open, due to adverse geographical conditions. In some places there are inaccessible forests; in others, there are swollen rivers and snow-covered mountains.

“Infiltrators use these adversities to their advantage, entering our territory and starting to live in the villages,” he said.

Mr Adhikari also pointed out that the state government’s lack of cooperation with the BSF on border-related subjects is a significant issue. He questioned how infiltrators are able to obtain identity cards, ration cards, and other documents, suggesting that the state government’s officials are not doing their job properly.

“When these infiltrators come to a village, then why do the patwaris make their identity cards? How do they get their ration cards made? How do the police and other officials verify them as Bona fide citizens and issue their identity cards?” he asked the Chief Minister.

He also accused the West Bengal government of not cooperating with the BSF on border-related subjects.

Earlier, Ms Banerjee had remarked that the BSF, which is responsible for guarding the borders, was allowing individuals to cross into India from regions such as Islampur, Sitai, and Chopra and questioned the motives behind this and attributed it to a “blueprint” from the central government. She had said that the situation would not have been possible without the central government’s involvement.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Jodhpur:

India’s Border Security Force (BSF) is stepping up its use of advanced surveillance and counter-drone measures to tackle increasing drone activity along the eastern border with Bangladesh.

In an interview with NDTV, BSF Director General Daljit Singh Chaudhary spoke about the force’s readiness to counter threats posed by modern surveillance technologies deployed by neighbouring countries. “We are taking adequate countermeasures to ensure that the ways being used by our neighbours get nullified,” Mr Chaudhary told NDTV.

The Director General highlighted the growing global reliance on drone technology for surveillance and expressed India’s commitment to strengthening its border security infrastructure. “We are continuously upgrading our surveillance techniques to meet emerging challenges,” Mr Chaudhary noted.

Intelligence reports have flagged a resurgence of extremist and radical elements along the eastern border. These groups are attempting to infiltrate India, posing a big security risk. Intelligence inputs also suggest that terror groups and cartels are using smuggling networks to push radicals to cross over to India.

The BSF chief assured that India’s security grid is robust and capable of thwarting such attempts.

“As far as inputs regarding extremist elements trying to sneak into India are concerned, we have a grid where in our G-Branch and sister agencies work together to ensure that this does not happen,” he said.

The recent seizure of a drone along the India-Bangladesh border has heightened the sense of urgency among security agencies. Following the incident, counter-drone mechanisms were further bolstered to address the evolving threat.

India shares a 4,096.70 km border with Bangladesh, of which approximately 800 km remains unfenced, creating potential vulnerabilities. “We have taken adequate technical measures to ensure that our neighbours do not exploit this 800 km gap,” the DG said. 
 

Border Security Force (BSF) deployed along the border also intercepted 873 Indians entering Bangladesh without any documents from January 1 to August 4. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

There has been no significant increase in the number of undocumented people intercepted whilst entering or leaving India on the border with Bangladesh following major political changes in the neighbouring country, government data of the past six years shows.

Between August 5, when former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled to India, and November 27, a total of 1,393 Bangladeshis were apprehended along the international border. From January 1 to August 4, the number of such apprehensions stood at 1,144, data accessed by The Hindu shows.

In all, 3,907 undocumented people have been intercepted along the Bangladesh border this year, which includes Indians and people from other nationalities.

In the whole of 2023, as many as 5,095 undocumented people were intercepted, including 3,137 Bangladeshis.

Other than undocumented Bangladeshis, the Border Security Force (BSF) deployed along the border also intercepted 873 Indians entering Bangladesh without any documents from January 1 to August 4.

The number of Indians who wanted to cross over to Bangladesh from August 5 to November 27 stood at 388.

This year, 109 people from other nationalities, including Myanmar, were also stopped at the border.

In 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022, the number of Bangladeshis intercepted were 2,995, 2,480, 3,295, 2,451, and 3,074, respectively.

After the recent arrest in Dhaka of Chinmoy Krishna Das, spokesperson of the Bangladesh Sammilito Sanatani Jagaran Jote, an umbrella group of minority religious communities, in an alleged case of sedition, the BSF has tightened its vigil along the border.

“There could be instances when members of the minority community may want to enter India fearing for their safety, but till now, no such scenario has emerged. There were a few reports from Dinajpur in north Bengal but no mass movement of people is noticed so far. We stop unauthorised entry of all people,” a senior BSF official said.

After Ms. Hasina escaped to India on August 5, violence erupted in the neighbouring country, and in several cases, members of the Hindu community, temples, and shops owned by members of the community, were specifically targeted.

The BSF, deployed along India’s 4,096-km long border with Bangladesh, has been on a heightened vigil since August, with instructions from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) “to not allow anyone into the country without valid documents”.

In certain instances, the BSF pushes back illegal migrants in coordination with the Border Guards Bangladesh, as registering a police case involves a long-drawn legal and deportation process.

After August 5, the BSF has held hundreds of meetings with officials of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) to ensure the safety and security of minorities in Bangladesh.

Kolkata:

The Border Security Force (BSF) claims to have arrested a civil engineer and seized 50 gold biscuits from his possession in the North 24-Parganas district of West Bengal.

“Acting on specific intelligence inputs, troops of 5 Bn BSF, posted at the Tentulberia Border Outpost, carried out a search in the Anchalpara village. The village is located about 2,700 metres behind the BOP. On spotting the BSF troops, a man attempted to flee through the back door of his house. Despite warnings, he attempted to break through the BSF cordon, till a jawan fired a blank round in the air. The man panicked and gave up,” said N K Pandey, DIG and spokesperson, South Bengal Frontier, BSF.

He added that a search of the accused led to the recovery of a black cloth belt wrapped in a synthetic carry bag, adding that the 50 gold biscuits were found inside.

“He, along with the gold, was taken to the Tentulberia BOP for further investigation. During interrogation, the man claimed that he is a civil engineer who had taken to smuggling to earn easy money,” said DIG Pandey.

He said that the engineer confessed that he would receive consignments of gold from across the Indo-Bangladesh Border (IBB), keep them for a few hours, and then hand them over to an unknown carrier.

“He claimed that he received Rs 500-1,000 per delivery. He apparently received the 50 gold biscuits on Monday morning, but the BSF swooped down before he could pass them on,” the DIG said.

The man, along with the gold, was handed over to officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Kolkata, for further legal proceedings.

DIG Pandey while lauding the effort of the BSF team, urged the border population to share any information related to gold smuggling through the BSF’s Seema Sathi Helpline 14419 or send voice of text messages to the WhatsApp number 9903472227.

He also assured that informants would be rewarded, and their identities kept confidential.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Border Security Force (BSF) personnel patrol at Line of Control (LOC) on Wednesday (October 16, 2024).
| Photo Credit: ANI

The Border Security Force foiled an attempt by four Bangladeshis to illegally enter India, arresting them at a border outpost in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district, an offical statement said on Wednesday. The Bangladeshis allegedly intended to travel to Chennai to find work.

BSF personnel from the 73rd Battalion of the South Bengal Frontier division, stationed at the Bamanabad Border Outpost, observed suspicious movements near the international border at approximately 3:35 p.m. on Tuesday (October 15, 2024).

They spotted five people attempting to cross from Bangladesh into Indian territory, of which four were Bangladeshi citizens carrying fake Aadhaar cards. The fifth person was an Indian tout who was allegedly facilitating their movement across the border.

After an alarm was raised, the group of five tried to force their way into Indian territory, scattering and attempting to hide in the tall grass. Soon after Quick Response Teams were deployed, all five were arrested and handed over to the Raninagar police station for further legal action.

‘Heading to Chennai’

During further questioning at the Bamanabad outpost, the Indian tout allegedly confessed that he had arrived at the international border on Tuesday, October 15 to help the Bangladeshi nationals cross into Indian territory. The four illegal immigrants, who were residents of the Godagari sub-district of Bangladesh’s Rajshahi, had allegedly planned to travel to Chennai to work as labourers and had promised to pay the Indian smuggler ₹4,000 per person after successfully entering India.

The four also alleged that their fake Indian identity documents were sourced through a Bangladeshi tout based in Godagari, for 1,000 Bangladeshi taka per head.

In a similar incident two weeks ago, two Bangladeshi nationals were arrested by the BSF at the Kakmarichar border outpost on October 2 for illegally entering Indian territory. A few hours later, two Indians were arrested by Border Guards Bangladesh at the same outpost on the other side of the international border.

Srinagar:

Three Border Security Force (BSF) soldiers were killed and six were injured when the bus in which they were travelling fell into a gorge in Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam district, the police said.

The six injured soldiers are critical, the police said.

The 52-seater vehicle was part of a seven-bus convoy going for the BSF’s induction for deployment for the next phase of the assembly election, the police said, adding 35 BSF soldiers were travelling in it.

The bus went off the hilly road and fell 40-feet on its side, the police said. All the injured BSF personnel are being treated in a hospital.

The Meghalaya Government handed over the body of Awami League leader Ishaque Ali Khan Panna to Bangladeshi authorities.
| Photo Credit: PTI

GUWAHATI

The Meghalaya Government handed over the body of Awami League leader Ishaque Ali Khan Panna to Bangladeshi authorities on Saturday (August 31, 2024).

Panna was found dead at an inclined betel nut plantation in the Dona Bhoi area of the State’s East Jaintia Hills district on August 26. The spot is about 1.5 km from the India-Bangladesh border.

Officials in Meghalaya said the Bangladesh government had deputed an official to collect the body from the district’s Khliehriat Civil Hospital. The body was handed over to the representative of Dhaka after identification and necessary paperwork.

The Awami League leader’s body was then taken to a friendship gate of the Border Security Force and the Border Guard Bangladesh at Dawki, from where it was taken to Bangladesh’s Pirojpur district via Tamabil across the border.

Police officials in Meghalaya said Panna was identified from a passport found on his body. The State Government did not share the post-mortem report but the local media cited unnamed police officials to claim he died due to asphyxia after being throttled.

Earlier, the Meghalaya Government informed New Delhi and Dhaka about the recovery of the body. Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong, also the Home Minister, said on Friday (August 30, 2024) that the relatives of the deceased identified the body and they were on their way to Meghalaya.

“The exact cause of death will be known after the forensic test report is received and the case will be probed further,” he said.

Kolkata:

A Bangladeshi smuggler was killed in retaliatory firing by Border Security Force (BSF) jawans in West Bengal’s Malda district early on Monday.

The BSF personnel were forced to open fire in self-defence after being attacked by two groups of criminals. The smuggler, who was gunned down, was later identified as Abdullah, a resident of Rishipara village in Bangladesh’s Chapainawabganj district.

“In the dark, one of our jawans used his passive night vision binoculars (PNVB) and spotted 5-6 people moving towards Bangladesh from the Indian side with headloads. The jawan immediately rushed forward in an attempt to intercept them. However, before he could do so, 5-6 hiding miscreants attacked him with sharp-edged weapons.

“The jawan was forced to fire a round in self-defence. This did not deter the smugglers though and as they kept moving towards border. Hearing the shot, another jawan rushed forward and came under attack by the group. He too fired a round in self-defence. The smugglers then fled back further inside Indian territory.

“The company commander of the Chandnichawk Border Outpost rushed to the spot with reinforcements and located the injured man inside deep foliage. Sharp weapons were found lying around. He was moved to a hospital in Mahesail, Murshidabad, where he died during treatment,” said A K Arya, DIG and spokesperson, BSF, South Bengal Frontier.

Rishipara is 4.5 km inside Bangladesh from the International Border.

According to the BSF, Abdullah had crossed the security cordon of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) to enter India in an attempt to smuggle out bidi leaves. According to Arya, similar attacks on BSF jawans were carried out along the International Border in Murshidabad, Nadia and North 24-Parganas districts.

While praising the alert BSF jawans, Arya said: “Despite frequent flag meetings with the BGB to alert them about the ongoing attacks and infiltration by Bangladeshi criminals, no concrete action has been taken. This inaction has emboldened the smugglers and criminals. Nevertheless, our jawans remain steadfast in protecting our borders and ensuring the security of our nation under all circumstances.”

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Border Security Force personnel keep vigil along the Indo-Bangladesh International Border. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

The Border Security Force (BSF) is on high alert along the Indo-Bangladesh border in Assam in response to the ongoing crisis in Bangladesh. District Commissioner Mridul Yadav said that the Integrated Check Post (ICP) has been closed since Monday (August 5, 2024) and not just import-export, even the movement of people is closed.

“We are on high alert and are ensuring that no incident of violence takes place. The BSF is on high alert. The Integrated Check Post (ICP) has been closed since Monday and not just import-export, even the movement of people is closed. An Army company has come, they are camping with the BSF to provide additional security… Since last week, no Indian student or Indian citizen has come to this side,” Mr. Yadav told ANI.

Union Home Ministry creates committee to monitor the safety of Indians in Bangladesh

In Assam, four districts — Cachar, Karimganj, Dhubri, and South Salmara — share their border with Bangladesh. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Home Affairs has formed a committee, led by the Additional Director General (ADG) of the BSF Eastern Command, to monitor the situation at the Indo-Bangladesh Border (IBB).

The Additional Director General of BSF, Eastern Command, is the chairman of the five-member Committee. In a letter dated on August 9, Under Secretary to the Government of India Smitha Viju said, “It has been decided to constitute a Committee consisting of the following members for the above-mentioned subject a) ADG, BSF, Eastern Command as the Chairman, b) IG, BSF Frontier HQ South Bengal, C) IG, BSF Frontier HQ Tripura, d) Member (Planning and Development), LPAI and e. Secretary, LPAI.

BSF sends back 1,000 men, mostly Hindus at India-Bangladesh border in Cooch Behar district

“The office memorandum further stated that the above committee will maintain communication channels with their counterpart authorities in Bangladesh to ensure the safety of Indian citizens and people belonging to minority communities in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is facing a fluid political situation with Sheikh Hasina, tendering her resignation from the position of Prime Minister on August 5 in the wake of mounting protests.

The protests erupted in early July due to demands for reforming the quota system that reserves civil service jobs for specific groups, including descendants of 1971 war veterans.The unrest intensified after students opposed a new policy allocating government jobs to descendants of freedom fighters, leading to violence, including attacks on state television headquarters and police booths in Dhaka.