Bangladesh unrest: BSF fires warning shots as hundreds try to cross border
Times of India | 8 August 2024
BSF fires warning shots PETRAPOLE/KOLKATA/JALPAIGURI: BSF personnel were forced to fire warning shots and form a human barrier at an unfenced section of the border Wednesday as hundreds of Bangladeshis, mostly politicians and workers of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League party, attempted to enter Bengal, fearing for their safety amid targeted violence in their nation.
BSF was strained to contain the influx and ensure security along the India-Bangladesh border. The situation escalated on Tuesday night when former Awami League MP Kamarul Arefin, his wife, and two daughters attempted to enter India without valid visas at Petrapole-Benapole border crossings. BSF stopped and sent them back to Bangladesh, where they were detained by BGB. The family had appealed for entry, fearing for their lives.
On Wednesday, BGB stopped two more Awami League politicians at Darshana border checkpoint.
BSF DIG (North Bengal Frontier) Amit Kumar Tyagi said more than 200 villagers — mostly Awami League members and Hindus — from Thakurgaon district in the neighbouring country gathered at Kishanganj-North Dinajpur border, prompting a round of blank firing to con trol the crowd.
“The villagers are still there, between 200m and 500m from the international border,” Tyagi said. Senior BSF officers are coordinating with BGB units to manage the situation.
Around 600 Bangladeshis are refusing to leave the no man’s land near Jalpaiguri in northern Bengal, demanding entry into India despite calls from Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) to return. BSF personnel formed a human shield to block entry through the unfenced border.
Similar standoffs occurred in nearby areas, with residents from six villages seeking refuge. “We have stopped them at zero point. We are taking all local help to control the situation,” a senior BSF officer said.
Indians returning from Bangladesh described scenes of violence and arson. Beauty Das from Thakurnagar recounted her harrowing experience in Narail, where she saw attempts to destroy a temple and attacks on neighbours.
“We could not sleep for the next two nights and stayed huddled in a room switching off lights. Today, I gathered courage and wrapped a dupatta over my face, hid my passport inside the bag, and managed to reach the Benapole border,” she said.
Saraswati Mandal from Bongaon, who visited her daughter in Jessore, cursed her fate for witnessing targeted violence against Awami League workers and Hindus. “They looted their homes and set houses on fire,” she said after crossing the Petrapole border.