Border Security Force personnel keep vigil at the India-Bangladesh border in Dakshin Dinajpur district of West Bengal. File | Photo Credit: PTI

Bangladesh returns BSF jawan after talks

A BSF official said the constable had noticed the movement of a few Bangladeshi nationals near the zero line

by · The Hindu

A Border Security Force (BSF) jawan, who had inadvertently crossed over to Bangladesh, was returned by the Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) on Tuesday (September 24, 2024) after a flag meeting.

The incident was reported around 10.30 a.m. in north Bengal when BSF constable Upal Kumar Das reportedly entered Bangladesh while he was patrolling the area.

A BSF official said that the constable had noticed the movement of a few Bangladeshi nationals near the zero line.

“The land beyond the zero line is used for cultivation by people on both sides of the border. When the constable noticed that some people from Bangladesh had come to the Indian side, he asked them to return. He crossed over to Bangladesh and was detained by the locals there, and was later handed over to the BGB,” the official said.

BSF officials contacted their counterparts in Bangladesh, and following a flag meeting, the jawan returned unharmed around 4 p.m., the official said.

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The BSF has been on a heightened alert after Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina stepped down and escaped to India on August 5. Violence erupted in the neighbouring country, and in several cases, members of Hindu community, their temples and shops, were specifically targeted.

The BSF, deployed along the 4,096 km border with Bangladesh, has been asked to not allow anyone to enter India without documents.

On August 9, the Ministry of Home Affairs constituted a five-member committee headed by Ravi Gandhi, Additional Director General, Eastern Command, BSF to communicate with Bangladeshi authorities “to ensure the safety and security of Indian nationals, Hindus, and other minority communities living there”.

Published - September 24, 2024 10:51 pm IST