In the first week of May, at least 167 people, including Rohingya, were pushed into Bangladesh from India through various border points. Diplomatic sources say more than a hundred others may also be sent in the same way soon.
The government of Bangladesh is seriously concerned about these incidents, which go against the border management system agreed upon by both countries. A senior official told Prothom Alo on Thursday that a formal message will soon be sent to the Indian High Commission in Dhaka, requesting urgent steps to stop these push-ins, reports Prothom Alo.
From 4 to 7 May, 167 people were pushed into Bangladesh through five districts—73 through Khagrachhari, 46 through Kurigram, 23 through Sylhet, 15 through Moulvibazar, and 10 through Chuadanga—according to diplomatic and law enforcement sources.
At least 110 people were pushed in a single day through the Khagrachhari and Kurigram borders by India’s Border Security Force (BSF). Only eight of them claimed to be Bangladeshi citizens. The rest said they were Rohingya or residents of Gujarat, India.
Sources also said around 200 people were flown from Gujarat to Tripura on a special, unscheduled flight operated by an Indian airline under BSF supervision. Some of them have already been sent into Bangladesh. Others are reportedly still in Agartala and may be sent in the coming days.
In response to the situation, Bangladesh has contacted Indian authorities. Some diplomatic sources said India has provided Dhaka with a list of people it claims crossed into India from Bangladesh in recent years.
A meeting was held at the Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday to review the issue. It was decided that if any of the pushed-in individuals are confirmed to be Bangladeshi citizens, they may be accepted. However, those whose citizenship cannot be verified will not be allowed to enter.
‘Push back’ not possible
Former officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Bangladesh High Commission in Delhi say there is no recent precedent for so many push-ins from India within such a short period. They also noted that, in the past, individuals pushed into Bangladesh were often immediately sent back. But this time, that process has not taken place.
According to sources in the local administration and law enforcement, 61 people were arrested last Wednesday by the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) for allegedly crossing into Bangladesh through the Doloi area of Kamalganj in Moulvibazar and the Roumari and Bhurungamari borders in Kurigram.
However, 73 people detained in Khagrachhari earlier on Wednesday have not yet been pushed back. Acting Deputy Commissioner of Khagrachhari, Nazmun Ara Sultana, told Prothom Alo that there has been no new incident of people being pushed into Bangladesh in that district.
In Moulvibazar, the BGB arrested 15 people, including women and children, from Kamalganj upazila for illegally crossing the border. Kamalganj UNO Makhon Chandra Sutradhar said the detainees—nine men, three women, and three children—are still being held at a BGB camp and will likely be handed over to the local police.
Diplomatic sources describe the recent push-ins as a serious concern for national security and public sentiment. They say such actions go against several bilateral agreements and understandings, including the 1975 Joint India-Bangladesh Guidelines for Border Authorities, the Coordinated Border Management Plan (CBMP) of 2011, and decisions made during Director General-level talks between the BGB and BSF.
Officials with experience in diplomatic and border affairs recalled that earlier push-ins were usually followed by swift push-backs. In one notable case in January 2003, India attempted to push over 200 people into Bangladesh via the Lalmonirhat border.
Due to Bangladesh’s firm stance, those individuals were stuck at the zero line for nearly two months. The issue was later addressed in diplomatic talks between then Foreign Minister M. Morshed Khan and his Indian counterpart Yashwant Sinha. Just before the talks, the group disappeared from the zero line.
