India says will act against illegal Bangladeshi nationals as push-in attempts rise

Amid ongoing tensions over repeated push-in attempts along the Bangladesh-India border, India's Ministry of External Affairs has stated that it will take action against all foreign nationals, including Bangladeshis, staying illegally in the country.

Responding to a journalist's question at a weekly media briefing in New Delhi on Friday, June 5, ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "We have laws in place to take action against any foreign national staying illegally in India, including Bangladeshis, and action will be taken accordingly."

Jaiswal said Delhi follows a formal bilateral process to repatriate illegal Bangladeshi nationals, which requires confirmation of citizenship from Dhaka before they are sent back. "We send the requests to Bangladesh to verify the citizenship of these individuals. Once verification is complete, the repatriation process moves forward," he said, claiming that many such requests are still pending with Bangladesh.

His remarks came as push-in activities along the border have intensified. The Border Guard Bangladesh reported that it had foiled 10 separate push-in attempts by the Indian Border Security Force in the 24 hours leading up to Thursday morning. The BGB said it is on high alert across the entire border with intensified intelligence surveillance and patrols.

The BGB also claimed to have foiled attempts to push 33 people through three separate points in Lalmonirhat early Friday with the help of locals. Earlier this week, tension had also flared at the Benapole border in Jashore, where the BSF allegedly opened a section of the barbed wire fence and attempted to push 10-12 people, including women and children, into Bangladesh.

Dhaka has long viewed push-ins as a violation of its sovereignty. The BGB has maintained that it will not accept anyone without proper documentation and verification of citizenship. During the Benapole incident, the BGB refused to accept the individuals despite the BSF's claim that they were Bangladeshi citizens.

At a weekly briefing in New Delhi on May 29, Jaiswal had said that action would be taken according to law against all illegal foreign nationals. He also stated that the names of over 2,680 individuals had been sent to Dhaka for citizenship verification, claiming that in many cases the verification had been pending for over five years.