INDIA鈥橲 Border Security Force having pushed in at least 123 people into Bangladesh through a few border points in Khagrachari and Kurigram on May 7 and continued efforts the next day are odious. The efforts at hand combined with events of Indian guards at almost regular intervals of killing Bangladeshis in the frontiers, abducting Bangladeshis into the Indian territory and torturing them, erecting structures in the no man鈥檚 land and, at times, attacking Bangladeshis from across the border or, even, entering Bangladesh reported many a time in the past, are contemptible. The Indian guards pushed in at least 79 people into Bangladesh along the Panchari and Matiranga frontiers in Khagrachari. In the Kurigram frontiers, Bangladesh border guards arrested 44 people, reportedly eight Bangladeshis and 36 Rohingyas, after the Indian guards had pushed them in through Rahumari and Bhurungamari border points. Whilst the Khagrachari administration says that all pushed in are in the custody of the Border Guard Bangladesh, the Kurigram border guard authorities say that they are verifying the identity of the people pushed in.
The Kurigram border guard authorities, who have sent a protest note to the Indian border guards on the matter, say that they have informed the home and foreign affairs ministries of the incidents, seeking an engagement with the Indian authorities. The national security adviser Khalilur Rahman, also the high representative to the chief adviser on Rohingya crisis and priority affairs, says that Dhaka has already communicated with New Delhi on the push-in, describing such incidents as unacceptable. The inspector general of police is also reported to have instructed the police administration in border districts to stop any illegal entry amidst a growing India-Pakistan conflict. The efforts of the Indian guards, or New Delhi for that matter, could well be construed as attempts at discommoding the Bangladesh government, still in a transitional phase, especially in view of a series of events that have happened with the direct involvement of India鈥檚 Border Security Force. Such events began in the final days of December 2024 with the erection of barbed-wire or electric fences along the frontiers. Such events also endanger any efforts for improvement in bilateral relations, which have faced a setback because of India鈥檚 support for the authoritarian Awami League regime, toppled in a mass uprising on August 5, 2024.
The events that add to border tension such as the killing of Bangladeshis, attacking and torturing on them, trespassing into the Bangladesh territory and erecting electric fences and pillars in the no man鈥檚 land have marked many border guard meetings, but Delhi appears to ignore the issues. Delhi should stop playing border ploys and Dhaka should adequately take up the issue with Delhi.
