TDS desk:

India is trying to push another 200-300 people into Bangladesh through the Khagrachhari border, Major General Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui, director general of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), said on Monday (May 12 ).

“We are getting information that another 200-300 people have been kept on the other side of Khagrachari for pushback. The Border Security Forces [of India] are unable to push them across the border due to increased surveillance by Bangladesh,” he said at a press briefing after a meeting of the Law-and-Order Advisory Council Committee.

He also said the Indian BSF has left another 78 people in the Mandarmani area on the other side of the Sundarbans.

The BGB chief also stated that India previously pushed 200 people into Bangladesh on 7 and 8 May. “These people were forcibly pushed into Bangladesh in the uninhabited areas of Khagrachari, Panchhari, and Roumari in Kurigram.”

He, however, stated that most of the individuals who were pushed into Bangladesh were Bangladeshi nationals who had been living in India.

“The BGB has verified the information of these people through the police and the SB. It has been found that many of them had gone to India in the last two to three years or even more. They have also prepared various documents, including Indian Aadhaar cards,” said the BGB DG.

He also said the authorities are working to help the individuals return to their permanent addresses.

The BGB DG also said among the people pushed to cross the border by India, there are 39 Rohingyas, who had migrated from Bangladesh to India.

However, five of these Rohingyas were found to have ID cards from the UNHCR of India.

“A flag meeting has been held regarding them. India will be informed through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The BSF is not accepting the matter as usual,” he added.