BSF struggles to dam terror-struck Bangladeshis fleeing homeland | Kolkata Information

A gaggle of Bangladeshis face off with BSF (not in pic) on the border in Berubari village, Jalpaiguri, on Wednesday

PETRAPOLE/KOLKATA/JALPAIGURI: The persevering with unrest in Bangladesh since Sheikh Hasina’s resignation and flight to India on Monday is spilling over to Bengal’s borders, with terrified Bangladeshis attempting to flee their nation, hoping to seek out shelter in India.
Late on Tuesday, a former Awami League (AL) MP from Kushtia II, Kamarul Arefin, was apprehended whereas attempting to cross over to India by way of the Benapole-Petrapole border in North 24 Parganas, alongside along with his spouse and two daughters.They had been despatched again on Wednesday. North Bengal, particularly, witnessed an exodus of Bangladeshis alongside the worldwide border on Wednesday: odd villagers, individuals from the minority Hindu neighborhood, AL supporters, all attempting to cross over.
At one such border outpost, BSF needed to even fireplace a warning spherical within the air, confronted with a gathering of 200-odd villagers, who had been attempting to cross into Indian territory. At one other border outpost, this one close to Jalpaiguri, 600 Bangladeshis, largely AL staff, are refusing to depart the no-man’s land, demanding passage to India, They’re refusing to step again into their very own nation regardless of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) calling them again.
When Arefin and his household tried to cross over to India late on Tuesday, they had been stopped by BSF and despatched again to Bangladesh on Wednesday. Whereas the ex-MP and his kin had passports, they didn’t have visas. They appealed to be let into India, fearing for his or her life in Bangladesh. Whereas BSF didn’t touch upon the problem, BGB detained him after that. On Wednesday, two extra AL functionaries, who tried to cross over from the Darshana land port (on the Darshana-Gede border), had been stopped by BGB. Later within the day, BGB issued a press be aware claiming {that a} complete of three individuals who tried to cross the border close to Darshana and Benapole, had been stopped and detained.
Amit Kumar Tyagi, BSF DIG (North Bengal Frontier), confirmed the warning shot, saying, “On the Mukesh border submit within the Kishanganj-North Dinajpur space, we had a gathering of over 200 villagers. We needed to resort to 1 spherical of clean firing at 1.45 pm on Wednesday. The villagers are nonetheless standing between 200 m and 500 m from the worldwide border.” He stated these villagers had been residents of Thakurgaon district in Bangladesh. Different BSF sources stated senior officers had been on the website, attempting to persuade the villagers. The native BGB has been alerted and their assist sought.
On the Dharadhara Para space of the India-Bangladesh border in Jalpaiguri, over 600 Bangladeshis tried to enter India. There isn’t any fence right here, so the BSF jawans are forming a human border themselves. The Bangladeshis have gathered on the ‘zero level’, going through the BSF defend. Related stories have come from Nagar Berubari (Satkura Bazar) in Jalpaiguri, alongside the worldwide border in Dharadhara Para.
BSF officers from the Radhabari sector have been requested to forestall all unlawful entry on this space.
Sources stated that residents of six villages in Bangladesh’s Panchagarh district – Lahiripara, Chirakuti, Bania Para, Balgram and Sundara Para – are searching for refuge in India.
“They’re standing barely just a few metres from the worldwide border. We’ve got stopped them at zero level. We’re taking native assist to manage the scenario,” stated a senior BSF official.
Indians who had gone to Bangladesh have additionally began returning to India. Thakurnagar resident Magnificence Das, who had gone to Narail, Bangladesh, to fulfill her sister hours earlier than Hasina resigned, managed to come back out of her sister’s home on Wednesday morning, overlaying her face with a dupatta, draped like a hijab. “I had no thought of the political turmoil there. After I reached Narail, I noticed individuals attempting to interrupt statues of Mujibur Rahman. After I requested what was occurring, the auto driver requested me to remain silent. I may sense bother however didn’t know what was ready for me,” she stated.
Over the following two days, she noticed a number of makes an attempt to destroy a temple close to her sister’s home and assaults on neighbours. “We couldn’t sleep for the following two nights and stayed huddled in a room, switching off the lights. On Wednesday, I gathered braveness and wrapped a dupatta round my face, hid my passport in a bag and managed to succeed in the Benapole border,” Das stated.