India refuses entry to 70 citizens at Benapole checkpost for coronavirus lockdown

Indian immigration at Petrapole checkpost refused entry to seventy Indian nationals returning from Bangladesh's Dhaka through the Benapole checkpost today.

They were not allowed entry because of the lockdown in West Bengal, our Benapole correspondent reports quoting officials at the immigration office.

Many parts of India are under lockdown owing to the global outbreak of coronavirus.

Ahsan Habib, officer-in-charge of Benapole immigration said Indian immigration authority asked them not to allow entry to any citizens.

Official sources said around 70 Indian students are trying to return from Bangladesh. But immigration authorities in Petrapole have asked them to get special permission from Indian Deputy High Commission in Khulna to enter India.

The special permission is required as Indian Home Ministry issued a notification barring entry to everyone through different border points with Bangladesh starting yesterday due to the coronavirus outbreak.