Balurghat, Feb. 20: Six Bangladeshi nationals, including a family five, returning from a visit to Ajmer Sharif are stranded on no-man’s land across the Hili border after the Bangladesh Rifles refused to let them enter, saying they were Indians.
A couple, their three children and another man were pushed in by the BDR last evening, South Dinajpur additional district magistrate Gautam Ghosh said.
A flag meeting between Border Security Force commander D.R. Rathore and Bangladesh Rifles’ Major Qurban Ali at 11 this morning failed to decide the fate of the stranded six.
Mohammad Kamal (27), his wife Sajeda Bibi (23) and their three children, residents of Manglapur village in Khulna district of Bangladesh, besides another man, Mohammad Saidul Alam (30) of Salaipur village under Bagirahat police station of Rangpur district, have taken shelter near border pillar no 284/50-s, BSF and intelligence sources said. A local voluntary organisation provided food and polythene sheets to the stranded Bangladeshis.
The BSF spotted the six people and stopped them from moving beyond their current position, the sources added.
The BSF’s South Bengal frontier was sending reinforcements to Hili to mount vigil on the unfenced border.
Last week, a group of 14 Bangladeshis had been denied entry into the country at the same border point. They were, however, taken back by the BDR under the cover of darkness.
The latest standoff has raised the spectre of a rerun of the Satgachhi crisis that erupted on the Cooch Behar border earlier this month. The deadlock was broken on February 6 when Dhaka, buckling under intense pressure from Delhi, allowed the group of 213 Bangladeshi snake-charmers to enter the country.
Rathore, commandant of the Patiram camp of the BSF, said the group of six Bangladeshi nationals had crossed over to the Indian side six months ago to visit Ajmer Sharif. When they tried to return to their native village in Bangladesh last evening, they were caught by the BDR jawans and pushed back to the Indian side.
“Our men, who were on patrol duty, prevented them from entering India. All them have confessed to the BDR officials that they were Bangladeshi nationals. But the BDR is in no mood to accept their version. We have also taken a stern stand. We shall keep strict vigil on these immigrants till they are taken back by the BDR men,” Rathore said.
Major Qurban Ali, however, said the six people were Indians and he could not allow them to enter Bangladesh.
But the stranded group claimed they were Bangladeshi nationals.
“I had crossed over to India through this point about six months ago with my wife and three children to visit Ajmer Sharif because my prayers had been answered. There I met Saidul Islam. He also had been there for the same purpose,” Kamal told The Telegraph. Both Kamal and Saidul are rickshaw-pullers in Bangladesh.
Kamal said that they were returning to their country but were prevented by the BDR jawans yesterday. They were refused entry to the Indian side by the BSF.
Caught in the standoff are the three children — Russel (5), Rubel (2) and Rabiul (1). They haven’t had anything to eat for the last two days. No one has even offered them drinking water, Kamal alleged, his eyes welling up.
Some Indian residents from the bordering villages offered some loaves and sweets this evening. People from either side of the border have gathered to take a look at the stranded group.
Inspector-general of Border Security Force (BSF) R.S. Tiwari told The Telegraph over phone that they have collected evidence to prove that six persons stranded on the zero line at Hili are Bangladeshis.
“We have verified and reconfirmed their Bangladeshi credentials. There is no question of taking them back in India. The BDR should see reasons and let their citizens get to their native country,” Tiwari said.
The IG said talks are on at the company commander level and hoped that the standoff would be resolved within 48 hours.
