The Border Security Force on Wednesday stopped around 500 persons from Bangladesh entering India through the bordering Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal, reported The Indian Express.
This comes two days after Sheikh Hasina resigned as the country’s prime minister and fled to India amid massive protests against her Awami League government. The country has also reported incidents of violence against religious minorities amid the protests.
“Over 300 men started to gather on the Bangladesh side of the border on Wednesday morning,” an unidentified official from the Border Security Force told The Indian Express. “In the afternoon, around 120 men tried to enter India. In the evening, a group of 40 men tried to enter.”
The official added that all of them tried to cross the zero line when the Border Security Force personnel stopped them.
“Officers of Bangladesh Border Guards were called and the men were told to return,” the official said. “By evening, all the men returned.”
Many members of the group pleaded with the Border Security Force personnel to be allowed in, claiming that they feared for their lives, reported NDTV.
After the fall of Hasina’s government, Nobel laureate economist Muhammad Yunus agreed to a proposal of student leaders that he act as the chief adviser to an interim government. He is expected to take oath as the head of the interim government on Thursday.
The Hasina-led government’s downfall came after the student-led protests against a controversial quota scheme for government jobs, which started in July, evolved into a broader agitation against her administration. The protests also saw several alleged extrajudicial killings of the protestors.
There was no widespread movement of the minority population from Bangladesh towards the Indian border, the Border Security Force said on Wednesday, reported The Indian Express. “The individuals gathered were primarily motivated by fears of local unrest,” it said.
The West Bengal government has ordered all district police chiefs to increase vigilance at the entry and exit points across all districts, especially those bordering Bangladesh.
India shares a 4,096 km-border with Bangladesh, the bordering states being West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura.
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