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Border Security Force (BSF) personnel stand guard at the India-Bangladesh border check post at Shili in Dakshindinajpur district. (Image source: PTI)
Border Security Force has canceled furloughs and suspended administrative courses to ensure additional deployments at the border.
Amid concerns over the situation on the India-Bangladesh border, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told Parliament that border forces are on maximum alert. “In view of this situation, our border troops have also been instructed to be extra vigilant,” Jaishankar told the Indian Parliament.
Border Security Force has canceled furloughs and suspended administrative courses to ensure additional deployments at the border. “In view of the changes in the situation in Bangladesh, the BSF has issued an alert in the India-Bangladesh border area and increased the number of troops deployed at the border,” the BSF said in a statement.
However, Border Force officials said the border area has been relatively calm so far. Sources told CNN-News18 that the number of infiltration attempts on the India-Bangladesh border has not increased in the past few days. “Before the current crisis started, there were an average of a dozen to two people per day in the border area. We have not noticed any significant changes in the past few days,” an official from the border force told CNN-News18.
Concerns over India-Bangladesh border coordination
But there are concerns about the law and order situation in Bengal and how quickly it can be brought under control. “BGB patrols on the Bangladesh side have significantly reduced. The strength has also been reduced, perhaps because they have been withdrawn to the hinterland for law and order duties,” a senior home ministry official told CNN-News18.
Another official who has recently booked charges in the BSF pointed out that the coordination between the BSF and the BGB has improved a lot over the years and if the change of government in Dhaka changes the balance, it may squander the efforts of the past few years. Positive results. “Cow smuggling, infiltration, FICN have all decreased. At the Directorate-level meeting between BGB and BSF, mechanisms were formulated to stop infiltration and immediately hand over illegal immigrants, especially children and women. The current situation requires BSF to be redoubled vigilance.
The fenced river borders, which are often flooded or washed away, are also being closely watched to prevent any illegal activities from the Bangladeshi side. Officials said there were reports of Hindu houses and temples being targeted in Bengal, with border security forces and district police in border states also keeping a close eye on any communal clashes.
“There are reports of Hindu minorities being attacked in Bangladesh and border villages are keeping a close watch to avoid any communal clashes,” a source said.
DG BSF Daljeet Chowdhary has also been taking stock of border preparedness. On the second day of his visit, Daljeet Chowdhary visited Petrapole in 24 Paraganas, West Bengal. “His visit will boost the morale of the troops who are on high alert,” officials said.
The IPC movement of trucks at the border remains restricted after Bangladesh imposed curfew.
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