COOCH BEHAR: The BSF averted an infiltration bid when thousands of residents from Bangladesh gathered along the Indo-Bangladesh border at Cooch Behar raising slogans and tried to enter the Indian side on Friday morning. Ikramul Haque, a local from Pathantuli in Sitalkuchi, Cooch Behar, West Bengal said, “Around 9-9.30 am, a few people from Bangladesh gathered at the border and tried to infiltrate into India. Many of them are still there. The crowd has thinned out a little now, though. Their arrival in India all of a sudden is not possible. There is a protocol for it. There is a large presence of the BSF.”
The Ministry of Home Affairs has constituted a committee that is to be headed by the ADG, Border Security Force, Eastern Command to monitor the current Indo-Bangladesh Border (IBB) situation. In a letter dated August 9, Under Secretary to the Govt of India Smitha Viju said, “It has been decided to constitute a Committee consisting of the following members for the above-mentioned subject a. ADG, BSF, Eastern Command as the Chairman, b. IG, BSF Frontier HQ South Bengal, c. IG, BSF Frontier HQ Tripura, d. Member (Planning and Development), LPAI and e. Secretary, LPAI.”
The office memorandum further stated that the the above committee will maintain communication channels with their counterpart authorities in Bangladesh to ensure the safety of Indian citizens and people belonging to minority communities in Bangladesh. The Additional Director General of BSF, Eastern Command, is the chairman of the five-member Committee.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah also made the announcement through a post on X and informed that the committee has been constituted to monitor the current situation on the India-Bangladesh border. “In the wake of the ongoing situation in Bangladesh, the Modi government has constituted a committee to monitor the current situation on the Indo-Bangladesh Border (IBB). The committee will maintain communication channels with their counterpart authorities in Bangladesh to ensure the safety and security of Indian nationals, Hindus, and other minority communities living there. The committee will be headed by the ADG, Border Security Force, Eastern Command,” Shah posted on X.