India pushed 109 more into Bangladesh

At least 109 people were pushed into Bangladesh from India through various border points in eight districts between Wednesday night and yesterday, according to Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).

BGB officials detained them along the Bangladesh-India border in Panchagarh, Lalmonirhat, Thakurgaon, Dinajpur, Moulvibazar, Feni, Cumilla and Khagrachhari, said our local correspondents.

Over the past month, at least 500 people have been reportedly pushed into Bangladesh from India.

BGB officials, quoting the detainees, told this newspaper that India's Border Security Force (BSF) pushed the individuals in. However, BSF officials during flag meetings with BGB in at least two districts yesterday denied their involvement.

Meanwhile, Dhaka has sent multiple letters to New Delhi requesting a stop to actions that pose risks to security and undermine mutual understanding.

In Panchagarh, 21 individuals, including women and children, were detained near the Joydharbhanga Borobari border in Sadar upazila early yesterday. They are all from Khulna and Narail.

Lt Col Sheikh Md Bodruddoza, commanding officer of BGB-56, said the detainees had been living in various parts of Gujarat, India, for a long time.

They said they were handed over by Indian police to the BSF, who then pushed them into Bangladesh, he added.

BSF officials, however, denied their involvement during a flag meeting.

In Lalmonirhat, 20 individuals, including women and children, were detained near Dhabalsuti and Jhalangi borders in Patgram upazila on Wednesday night.

Nayek Subedar Abdul Matin of BGB-61 Battalion's Dhabalsuti BOP (border outpost) said they were handed over to Patgram police after initial interrogation, adding their statements suggest they were pushed in by BSF late at night.

In Moulvibazar, seven individuals were detained near the Muroichhara border in Kulaura upazila yesterday.

Lt Col ASM Zakaria, commander of BGB-46, said they are all Bangladeshi citizens and will be handed over to Kulaura police.

In Feni, 39 Bangladeshis were detained near the borders in Chhagalnaiya and Fulgazi on Wednesday night, said Lt Col Md Mosharraf Hossain of BGB-4.

After verifying their documents, 12 were handed over to Fulgazi police and another 12 to Chhagalnaiya police. The BGB could not immediately decide what to do with the remaining 15.

In Cumilla, 13 Bangladeshis were detained near the Golabari border yesterday.

They are currently in the BGB custody, Lt Col Mir Ali Ejaz, commander of the BGB-10, said.

In Thakurgaon, two women were detained near Boirchuna border in Pirganj upazila and two others near Ramchandrapur border in Birol upazila early yesterday.

The Indian police detained them about a month ago and handed them over to the 63 BSF Battalion, who later pushed them into Bangladesh, said Lt Col Abdullah Al Moin Hasan, commanding officer of BGB-42.

BSF officials denied their involvement when BGB protested the push-ins in two separate company commander-level flag meetings, he added.

In Khagrachhari, five people, including a child, were detained near the Ramgarh border, reports Prothom Alo.

During questioning, the detainees said they had been working as labourers at a brick kiln in Haryana, Ramgarh Upazila Nirbahi Officer Ismat Jahan told Prothom Alo.

LETTERS TO NEW DELHI

Bangladesh has recently sent at least four letters to India requesting to stop any push-ins, saying it violates existing bilateral frameworks, including the 1975 India-Bangladesh joint guidelines for border authorities, the 2011 Coordinated Border Management Plan (CBMP), and decisions made during director general-level talks between the BGB and BSF.

The letter reiterated that Bangladesh would accept individuals confirmed as Bangladeshi citizens and repatriated through proper channels. Any deviation from this, it said, would harm mutual understanding between the two countries.

Recently, New Delhi sent a letter to Dhaka seeking to expedite the verification process of illegal Bangladeshis in India so that they can be sent back home at the earliest.

Responding to a question, Indian External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told the weekly media briefing yesterday that any foreigner living illegally in India -- whether Bangladeshis or others -- is dealt with as per law.

"We have a large number of Bangladeshi nationals here who are required to be deported. We have asked Bangladesh to verify their nationality. There is a pending list of 2,369 [Bangladeshi] nationals. In many cases, the people have completed their jail sentence and are waiting to be deported," he said.

In many cases, the nationality verification required to be done by the Bangladesh side has been pending since 2020, he added.

Speaking on the matter, a foreign ministry official told this newspaper yesterday that the letter sent by New Delhi does not explain why the push-ins would take place.

"If we are to receive illegal Bangladeshis from India, it has to be done under a process. We do it on a regular basis. This is applicable for both countries," said the official, wishing to remain unnamed.

"Any perceived delay of verification cannot be used as a factor for push-ins," he added.