Indian Army personnel stand guard near the India-Bangladesh border checkpost, at Fulbari near Siliguri district on August 5, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI
GUWAHATI
Four northeastern States bordering Bangladesh have stepped up vigil along the border with Bangladesh to check the possible unauthorised entry of people fleeing the political turmoil there.
While Meghalaya has clamped night curfew along its 443 km border with Bangladesh, Assam, Mizoram, and Tripura have asked the Border Security Force (BSF), Assam Rifles, the local police and other security agencies to keep a sharper eye on cross-border movements.
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Bangladesh and India share a 4,096-km-long border, including 2,217 km in West Bengal. The Assam, Mizoram, and Tripura stretches of the border are 262 km, 318 km, and 856 km respectively.
“I am in regular contact with the Centre, and I have asked the security agencies to be on the alert. We are implementing measures along the border according to the directives from the Centre,” Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha told journalists on Tuesday.
He said the security agencies have been asked to work in coordination with the State government to prevent any unauthorised entry of people from Bangladesh into the State.
Condemning the attacks on Hindus and other minorities during the unrest in Bangladesh, Dr. Saha lauded some members of the Muslim community in the country helping to protect the minorities and their places of worship.
Similar instructions have been issued by the Assam government for four districts – Cachar, Dhubri, Karimganj, and South Salmara-Mankachar – and by the Mizoram government for Lawngtlai, Lunglei, and Mamit districts bordering Bangladesh.
Meghalaya went a step further by imposing a night curfew along the Bangladesh border up to 200 metres from the zero line. “The 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. night curfew will remain in force until the situation in Bangladesh improves,” the State’s Deputy Chief Minister, Prestone Tynsong said.
“We have also asked our Director General of Police to provide necessary manpower or logistical support to the BSF as and when required,” he said.
On Monday, Tipra Motha leader Pradyot Manikya Deb Barma said the Centre must talk to the head of the interim government in Dhaka to ensure the protection of minorities and indigenous people living in riot-torn Bangladesh.
“Attacks on minorities and our indigenous people living in Bangladesh have increased. This is deeply concerning, and I am sure the government of India will have a conversation with whoever takes over the interim government. We must also be careful that no provocative statement is given from our side,” he said.
The ethnic minorities in Bangladesh include the Buddhist Chakma community, the primarily Christian Garo and Khasi communities, and the mixed-faith Tiprasas (communities in the Scheduled Tribe list of Tripura).
In a memorandum submitted to Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday, the Chakma Development Foundation of India (CDFI) urged the Centre to take appropriate measures if the Tiprasa people and other minorities of Bangladesh seek shelter in India to escape persecution during the ongoing political turmoil.
The CDFI also pointed out that the BSF personnel detained 1,675 people from Bangladesh, including 174 Rohingyas, along the Tripura-Bangladesh border from January 2021 to April 2024. These people were trying to sneak into India illegally, it said.
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