India pushes in 21 Rohingyas through Sherpur border

The Indian Border Security Force (BSF) has pushed 21 Rohingyas, including women and children, through the Nakugaon border in Nalitabari upazila of Sherpur.

The incident took place around 1:15am on Thursday (July 25), according to local authorities.

Members of India’s Kilapara BSF camp forced the group through the border, where they were later detained by a Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) patrol team under the Hatipagad BGB camp. The group consists of five adult men, five women, and eleven minors, all from six families.

According to BGB officials, the families originally fled from the Balukhali Rohingya refugee camp in Ukhiya, Cox’s Bazar in 2017 and entered Jammu and Kashmir illegally. They had been working there in hotels and private residences until Indian police arrested them in a recent operation. The detainees were later handed over to the BSF.

Lieutenant Colonel Mehedi Hasan, commander of BGB Battalion 39 in Mymensingh, confirmed the incident. "Further investigations are underway to determine the next course of action," he said.

This is the second such incident reported this month. On July 11, the BSF pushed 11 Rohingyas, including children, through the Panihata border in the same upazila.