Bengal tightens security along Bangladesh border after Hasina verdict
The Statesman | 18 November 2025
Security along the India-Bangladesh border in North and South 24-Parganas has been intensified following the historic verdict delivered by Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal, which on Monday, sentenced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death for crimes against humanity.
The moment the court concluded proceedings and announced the capital punishment, law enforcement agencies on the West Bengal side elevated security protocols fearing possible cross-border movement. According to officials, Indian intelligence agencies are apprehensive that if the Awami League is officially banned in Bangladesh, a large number of its leaders and workers may attempt to enter India through bordering districts. In anticipation of such a scenario, the Centre has asked West Bengal authorities and border forces to maintain maximum vigilance.
Naka checks have been strengthened along several known entry routes, including the Ichamati Bridge in Basirhat, Tentulia Bridge in Swarupnagar, Bonbibi Setu in Hasnabad, Nabadurga Mor in Hemnagar, and Shayestanagar in Baduria. From early Monday, police teams from Basirhat police district and the Border Security Force (BSF) have been stopping buses, autos, goods vehicles, bikes and other transport entering the Indian mainland from border-adjacent zones.
The heightened alert comes at a time when Delhi and Kashmir witnessed a series of explosions over the past week, prompting the Union home ministry to adopt a zero-tolerance stance towards any potential security lapse. A senior administrative official privately acknowledged that “the twin developments—the unrest in Bangladesh and recent terror incidents in India—have pushed security agencies into a heightened state of caution.”
Bangladesh itself remains volatile following the verdict. Multiple groups took out torch processions in Dhaka demanding the maximum sentence for the ousted leader. Several explosions were reported in the capital, prompting police to issue “shoot-on-sight” orders against violent agitators. Security forces, including the army, also intervened when protesters attempted to march with two excavators towards the historic residence of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Dhanmondi 32. Hasina, who resigned and fled Bangladesh in July last year amid massive student-led protests, is currently in India. She faces five major charges related to last year’s deadly crackdown that left more than a thousand people dead.
Reacting to the verdict, Tanvir Hasan (Chhoto Monir), former Awami League MP from Tangail-2, told The Statesman that Bangladesh had entered “a dark chapter.” He alleged that “forces that never accepted Bangladesh’s Independence in 1971” were behind the developments, claiming that extremist outfits and foreign funding networks were working to destabilise the country. He also referred to statements linking several terror groups and Pakistan-based funding channels to the unrest.