9 Bangladeshis pushed back through Kurigram border

The Indian Border Security Force (BSF) pushed back nine Bangladeshi nationals through the Kurigram border early today.

According to Lt Col Mehedi Imam, commanding officer of Lalmonirhat 15 Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) Battalion, members of BGB detained them shortly after they were pushed back around 3:30am through the Kashipur-Dharmapur border near International Main Pillar No. 943 in Phulbari upazila of Kurigram.

Quoting the returnees, the commanding officer said that the BSF had pushed them in through the border.

"After verifying their identities, we handed them over to police. All of them are residents of Kurigram's Phulbari upazila. They had crossed the border into India in search of work and were living there," he said.

The returnees were handed over to Phulbari Police Station.

"Legal formalities were completed after they were brought in by BGB. Around 2:00pm today, they were handed over to their families. A general diary (GD) was filed regarding the incident," said Abdul Salam, officer-in-charge (OC) of Phulbari Police Station.

One of the returnees, Bahadur Islam told The Daily Star, "People from border areas often cross into India illegally due to lack of local employment opportunities. I had been working at a brick kiln in Delhi for the past 15 years."