N borders tense over push-in bids
Our Correspondent, Rangpur
Situation across the 1,200km long frontier areas under Dinajpur and Panchagarh districts has been tense for one week over incidents of 'push-in' and 'push-back' attempts between India's Border Security Force (BSF) and Bangladesh Rifles (BDR).Sources said the BDR foiled several BSF attempts of pushing some Bangla-speaking Indian citizens in Bangladesh through several points of the country's northwestern borders. BDR personnel under Rangpur and Dinajpur sector have been kept alert as the BSF is still trying to push Indian citizens in Bangladesh. BDR sources said that several hundred Indian citizens, mostly Bangla speaking Muslims, had been picked up from different areas in India and kept in Hatkhola and Dengapara villages about 1 km off the borders of Dianjpur, Panchagarh, Thakurgaon, Lalmonirhat, Kurigram and Joypurhat districts to be pushed in Bangladesh. The BSF under sector no. 32 tried to forcefully push eight Indian citizens into Bangladesh near the demarcation pillar no. 292 at Kantibhita, and another group of 25 Indian citizens near the demarcation pillar no. 293 at Dhantola in Thakurgaon district in early hours of last Friday, said BDR sources and eyewitnesses. In another attempt the BSF tried to push in 50 Bangla-speaking people into Bangladesh through Baliadangi frontier, according to UNB. However, the BDR, with the help of villagers, foiled all the attempts of the BSF and pushed those Indians back to India again. A flag meeting between the BDR and the BSF at company commander level was held at Dengapara of India at 4pm yesterday to defuse the tensions.
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