The Indian Border Security Force has taken back 11 people, including a sixth-grade student and her pregnant mother, after they remained stranded for nearly 48 hours at the zero line along the Mashalgaon border in Haripur upazila of Thakurgaon.
The group was removed from the border area and taken back into India around 3:00am on Monday, said Lieutenant Colonel Abdullah Al Moin Hasan, commanding officer of Dinajpur Battalion (42 BGB).
The group comprised three men, four women and four children.
Among them were sixth-grader Rozina Akhter, her nine-month-pregnant mother and her younger brother, who has a disability.
The group had been staying at the zero line in difficult conditions after an alleged attempt by the BSF to push them into Bangladesh through an area near border pillar 349/7-S under the Mashalgaon Border Outpost in the early hours of June 6.
After receiving information, a BGB patrol team rushed to the spot and prevented them from entering Bangladesh.
During preliminary questioning, the individuals told BGB members that they had been living in Dum Dum area of West Bengal.
They alleged that Indian law enforcement agencies detained them on May 26 and held them at a designated location along with hundreds of others. Later, they were divided into smaller groups and taken to different points along the border.
They were subsequently taken to the Bohargaon camp of the 87 BSF Battalion where they stayed for a day before being transported to the border area on the night of June 6.
Lieutenant Colonel Abdullah Al Moin Hasan said the BGB has strengthened surveillance and intensified patrols in the area to prevent any unauthorised cross-border movement.
‘The BGB remains alert to prevent any form of illegal infiltration and push-ins along the border,’ he said.
Meanwhile, home minister Salahuddin Ahmed on Sunday said all important border-related issues including push-ins across the frontier will be discussed at the four-day director general level meeting between the Border Guard Bangladesh and India’s Border Security Force.
‘The DG-level meeting is held alternately in Bangladesh and India. This time it is our turn to visit India. All relevant issues will be discussed there,’ he said.
