The Crossbill News Desk
Fresh tensions surfaced along the India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal’s Malda district on Saturday (June 20) after a group of people who had allegedly been pushed back to Bangladesh recently reportedly attempted to return to Indian territory through an unfenced stretch near the Sukdevpur outpost in Baishnabnagar.
The incident came amid the BJP government’s ongoing “detect, delete, deport” campaign aimed at identifying and expelling alleged illegal immigrants.
According to local residents, around 20 people tried to cross back into India, prompting heightened vigilance by the Border Security Force (BSF).
Pijush Mandal, a resident of Sukdebpur, told The Telegraph that 20 Bangladeshis who had been pushed back from India recently had attempted to re-enter.
“The BSF (Border Security Force) immediately went on high alert and foiled the intrusion attempt. We also gathered there in support of the BSF. Sensing the alertness of the force and the mood of the Indian citizens, the intruders retreated,” Mandal was quoted as saying to the newspaper.
Mandal also alleged that the group later along with 1,000 others gathered on the Bangladeshi side of the border for a few hours and then dispersed as the BSF stood on the Indian side.
“There was tension but we dealt with the situation adequately,” a senior BSF officer was quoted as saying to The Indian Express.
Earlier this month, Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) had reportedly deployed armed village defence volunteers at multiple locations along the international border in West Bengal and Tripura, amid the intensified drive by BJP governments against undocumented migrants suspected to be residing illegally in India.
The West Bengal government under chief minister Suvendu Adhikari has announced that suspected infiltrators would be identified and handed over directly to the BSF rather than produced before courts.
Defending the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, Adhikari has claimed that around 4,800 alleged illegal immigrants had been deported to Bangladesh over the last month and said more than 140 acres of land had been transferred for border fencing.
“Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said that national security is our priority. The state government has started identifying infiltrators and pushing them back. However some elements in Bangladesh are trying to prevent this. This is what happened at the Sukdevpur border outpost today… But we are determined,” Khagen Murmu, BJP Lok Sabha MP from Maldaha Uttar, told The Indian Express.
The developments have unfolded against the backdrop of objections from Bangladesh, which has maintained that individuals cannot be accepted without following established diplomatic and legal procedures.
Dhaka has repeatedly opposed pushback attempts carried out outside formal channels, adding a fresh layer of complexity to the border situation.
The incident came amid the BJP government’s ongoing “detect, delete, deport” campaign aimed at identifying and expelling alleged illegal immigrants.
According to local residents, around 20 people tried to cross back into India, prompting heightened vigilance by the Border Security Force (BSF).
Pijush Mandal, a resident of Sukdebpur, told The Telegraph that 20 Bangladeshis who had been pushed back from India recently had attempted to re-enter.
“The BSF (Border Security Force) immediately went on high alert and foiled the intrusion attempt. We also gathered there in support of the BSF. Sensing the alertness of the force and the mood of the Indian citizens, the intruders retreated,” Mandal was quoted as saying to the newspaper.
Mandal also alleged that the group later along with 1,000 others gathered on the Bangladeshi side of the border for a few hours and then dispersed as the BSF stood on the Indian side.
“There was tension but we dealt with the situation adequately,” a senior BSF officer was quoted as saying to The Indian Express.
Earlier this month, Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) had reportedly deployed armed village defence volunteers at multiple locations along the international border in West Bengal and Tripura, amid the intensified drive by BJP governments against undocumented migrants suspected to be residing illegally in India.
The West Bengal government under chief minister Suvendu Adhikari has announced that suspected infiltrators would be identified and handed over directly to the BSF rather than produced before courts.
Defending the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, Adhikari has claimed that around 4,800 alleged illegal immigrants had been deported to Bangladesh over the last month and said more than 140 acres of land had been transferred for border fencing.
“Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said that national security is our priority. The state government has started identifying infiltrators and pushing them back. However some elements in Bangladesh are trying to prevent this. This is what happened at the Sukdevpur border outpost today… But we are determined,” Khagen Murmu, BJP Lok Sabha MP from Maldaha Uttar, told The Indian Express.
The developments have unfolded against the backdrop of objections from Bangladesh, which has maintained that individuals cannot be accepted without following established diplomatic and legal procedures.
Dhaka has repeatedly opposed pushback attempts carried out outside formal channels, adding a fresh layer of complexity to the border situation.
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