Kolkata, Jan 16 (IANS): The Border Security Force (BSF) claims that it has strengthened security along the Indo-Bangladesh Border (IBB) in West Bengal, in the light of infiltration attempts on a regular basis.
On Wednesday, five Bangladeshi nationals were 'chased away' from Indian territory in the districts of North 24-Parganas and Malda, an official said.
On Tuesday, 13 Bangladeshi infiltrators were pushed back in these two districts, he said.
"Infiltration attempts have increased over the last few months. We are pushing back illegal Bangladeshi migrants almost on a daily basis. During interrogation, the Bangladeshis said that they were on their way to cities like Mumbai and Bengaluru to work as labourers and housekeeping staff. The situation gets extremely volatile at times. There are women among such groups and sometimes they date the BSF jawans to open fire on them. Our troops are observing extreme restraint and in case a Bangladeshi infiltrator refuses to turn back, they are handing him or her over to the police for necessary legal action," the official said.
According to another senior official of the BSF, as many as 40-45 Bangladeshis have been stopped from crossing over unfenced stretches of the IBB over the last five days.
The BSF also took up this matter and the importance of a Single Row Fence (SRF) to control cross-border crimes at the BSF-BGB Sector Commander's Border Coordination Meeting at Benapole, Bangladesh, on Wednesday. Bangladesh has been objecting to such fencing.
"The BSF has been strictly observing all ethics of border management. On Wednesday, our jawans came across a Bangladeshi who had crossed the IBB inadvertently. He was handed over to Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) as a gesture of goodwill. Attempts to smuggle cattle, banned cough syrup and other contraband have also gone up. The criminals are not even hesitating to attack our women constables. Under the circumstances, BSF troops are being forced to open fire in self-defence," the official added.
Around midnight on Thursday, an on-duty mahila jawan spotted smugglers approaching the IBB from the Indian side with cattle.
She challenged the miscreants and alerted her colleagues. When the smugglers, armed with sticks and sharp weapons, attempted to surround her, she fired two rounds in the air. This did not have the desired effect.
Finally, she fired a round from her Pump Action Gun (PAG) at the smugglers. This forced them to disperse. A search of the area led to the recovery of two heads of cattle.
While Bangladesh has been crying foul over the death of Bangladeshi smugglers due to firing by the BSF, the Indian border guarding force has maintained that such action becomes necessary to save the lives of troops who maintain vigil along the IBB against all odds.