BSF nabs Bangladeshi teen at Chopra, youth who swam to Rajganj
Times of India | 12 December 2024
12 Kolkata: A BSF patrol team apprehended a 15-year-old Bangladeshi girl during her attempted border crossing at Chopra in North Dinajpur district on Tuesday night.
The girl, from Panchagarh, was spotted trying to enter through a Hume pipe beneath the border fence at Fatepur along the India-Bangladesh border under Chopra police station. BSF personnel from Battalion No 17 detained her and handed her over to Islampur police, who then produced her before the Juvenile Justice Board in Raiganj.
Her aunt, a resident of Belakoba in Jalpaiguri district, arrived at Chopra after being contacted by police. She said the girl was a singer who had earlier performed in India. According to the aunt, the girl and her family were Iskcon devotees and had been facing threats. Additionally, the girl required eye treatment and possessed a passport. She was unable to obtain a visa , however, due to the unrest in Bangladesh, leading to her desperate attempt to cross the border.
"BSF lodged an FIR and handed the girl over to us. We are taking legal steps," said Islampur SP Joby Thomas.
Also on Tuesday, a 21-year-old was caught by BSF when he entered India by swimming the Karatoya river to Rajganj. Identified as Jeeban Barman, a BA first-year student of Thakurgaon Government College in Bangladesh's Rangpur district, he claimed he had been getting threatening calls since participating in a rally demanding the release of Iskcon monk Chinmoy Krishna Das.
"I was facing threats of persecution in Bangladesh. So is the condition of other Hindus there. The state is sitting idle doing nothing or very little to curb attacks on Hindus. So, I thought of crossing into India for a better life," he said.
BSF transferred Barman to Rajganj police custody. Following his production before a Jalpaiguri court, he was remanded in judicial custody for a fortnight.
BSF officials said they had increased patrolling with special focus on unfenced borders in Murshidabad and other districts. At Malda Town Station, situated just 10km from the Bangladesh border, officials are conducting regular identity checks of passengers, deploying sniffer dogs and broadcasting warnings about suspicious individuals.
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