BSF pushes in 53 Bangladeshis across two border

Indian Border Security Force (BSF) pushed 53 Bangladeshi nationals, including women and children, across the border into Bangladesh on Wednesday morning (July 16).

The individuals were detained by the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) from different border areas in Chhatak upazila of Sunamganj and Companiganj and Jaintapur upazilas of Sylhet.

According to BGB sources, 19 people from seven families were arrested near the Kalairag border in the Batrai area of Companiganj, about 200 yards inside Bangladeshi territory. The group includes 5 men, 9 women, and 5 children. Seventeen of them are residents of Narail, while the others are from Kushtia and Khulna.

Companiganj Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Uzayer Al Mahmud confirmed the incident and said that arrangements are underway to bring the detainees to the police station.

Elsewhere, 13 people from nine families were detained from the Sripur Rangpani area of Jaintapur. Among them are 2 men, 8 women, and 3 children. The detainees are from Jashore, Habiganj, Narsingdi, Sylhet, Satkhira, Narail, and Barishal.

Jaintapur Police Station OC Abul Bashar Md Badruzzaman said preparations are being made to send them to court.

In a third incident, 21 individuals from eight families were pushed across the Noakut border in Chhatak upazila. The group includes 4 men, 15 women, and 2 children. They are residents of Sylhet, Jashore, Narail, and Satkhira.

Lieutenant Colonel Nazmul Haque, commander of the 48th BGB Battalion in Sylhet, said, "Initial verification confirms all 53 individuals are Bangladeshi citizens who had previously entered India illegally."

"BGB detained them immediately after they were forced across the border by the BSF and are in the process of handing them over to the respective police stations. Legal action is being taken against them," he added.