BSF Allegedly Pushes 123 Individuals into Bangladesh in a Single Day

Amidst heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, allegations have surfaced that India's Border Security Force (BSF) forcibly pushed over a hundred individuals into Bangladesh across various border points.

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) detained at least 123 individuals, including Rohingyas and Bangla-speaking people, who were allegedly pushed into Bangladesh by India's Border Security Force (BSF) through the Kurigram and Khagrachhari border points. Bangladesh has strongly protested these actions, urging India to use formal channels for repatriation if these individuals are indeed found to be Bangladeshi citizens. This recent event underscores the persistent challenges and lack of a definitive resolution to the pushback issue along the border.

Our correspondents report that pushbacks facilitated by the BSF are occurring through the Moulvibazar border. Specifically, 44 individuals were allegedly pushed through the Kurigram border and another 66 through the Khagrachhari border.

This development follows reports from Bangladesh's border force, the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), which stated on Wednesday that they had detained at least 123 individuals who were allegedly attempting to enter the country from India without proper documentation.

Major General Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui, the Director General of the BGB, was quoted as saying that those detained include Rohingyas and Bangla-speaking individuals. He added that they are currently in BGB custody while their identities are being verified. The BGB is the paramilitary force responsible for Bangladesh's border security. 

Bangladesh has lodged a strong protest with India's Border Security Force regarding these alleged "push-ins," according to Major General Siddiqui.

Bangladesh's National Security Adviser, Khalilur Rahman, was quoted as saying, "Dhaka is trying to establish contact with New Delhi on the reported push-ins of people from India through the Indo-Bangladesh borders in Kurigram and Khagrachhari."

He further stated that if the detained individuals are verified to be citizens of Bangladesh, "we will accept them." However, he emphasized the need for a formal process, stating, "This will have to be done in a formal channel. Pushing them in is not the way."

This incident occurs against a backdrop of strained relations between New Delhi and Dhaka following Sheikh Hasina's resignation as Prime Minister and subsequent reported flight to India in August after weeks of widespread student-led protests against her Awami League government, which had been in power for 16 years.

Two days after Hasina's reported departure, reports emerged that the Border Security Force had stopped approximately 500 individuals from Bangladesh from entering India through the Jalpaiguri border district in West Bengal.

India shares a 4,096-kilometer border with Bangladesh.

According to reports 123 individuals detained by the BGB, 44 were apprehended in the Roumari and Bhurungamari sub-districts of Kurigram, with 35 of them identified as Rohingyas. In Khagrachhari, at least 79 Bangla-speaking individuals were detained.