New Delhi: At least 2,980 “illegal” Bangladeshi immigrants were sent back since March through several outposts in West Bengal, 1,930 of them since the BJP government took over in the state last month, according to data accessed by ThePrint.
The data has been accessed even as the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) engage in talks in New Delhi for better cooperation on these matters.
The data, provided by sources in the BSF, shows that at least 1,930 “illegal” Bangladeshi immigrants were sent back since 19 May when West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari first announced the “detect, delete and deport” policy.
“Between May 19 and June 10, at least 1,930 Bangladeshi nationals illegally living in India were sent over from outposts in West Bengal,” a senior BSF official told The Print on Wednesday.
The data also shows that in April, at least 450 Bangladeshi nationals were sent back through the eastern border within West Bengal, and 600 were sent back in March.
Last month, Union Home Minister said “demographic change is a serious problem linked not only to our sovereignty but also to national security, law and order, major changes in social structure, and the protection of tribal societies”. He had also announced the formation of a committee to carry out a comprehensive assessment of the demographic changes occurring across India “due to illegal immigration and other abnormal reasons”.
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BSF-BGB ‘verbal spat’
Meanwhile, there have been several incidents of “verbal spat” between the two border-guarding forces over the past few days over the BGB’s allegations of “illegal push-backs” from India.
“Push -back” is a process of sending “illegal” Bangladeshi immigrants back to Bangladesh over the land border without any communication to the BGB.
According to a government official, as per the rules, foreign nationals who enter the country illegally are handed over to the BSF, which further arranges transportation after contacting the border authorities of the neighbouring country, in this case the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).
On Tuesday, a video went viral where BSF officials were seen arguing with BGB counterparts over a family of four including two women and a toddler.
In the video, BGB officials can be seen alleging that the BSF is “pushing in” several individuals every night. “Even if they are Bangladeshi, they should be sent in legal ways,” says one of them.
“They have illegally entered India and that is the problem,” a BSF official responds.
Speaking to The Print, a senior BSF official aware of the matter said that the family was spotted on 5 May when the BSF officials and BGB officials had an argument over the nationality of the family. “The family was sent to Bangladesh on Saturday night,” said the official.
This is one of the many instances that have happened in the past week.
In the early hours of 6 June, a group of 10 people was allegedly “pushed back” by the BSF into Bangladesh from north Bengal’s Jalpaiguri area. But the BGB allegedly refused to let the group enter Bangladesh and escorted them to the no man’s land between India and Bangladesh.
“Until Monday, this group was stranded in the no-man’s land near Sakati outpost in the Jalpaiguri area. Taking cognisance of the hardships of the weather, the family was given food and taken to the Jalpaiguri holding centre,” the BSF official told The Print.
On 4 June , a group of 28 persons was intercepted by the BGB near Bangladesh’s Chapainawabgunj area. The BGB had alleged that the group was “pushed over” by the BSF in the wee hours of Thursday.
Following this, the BSF and BGB held a flag meeting over the issue.
“They were identified as Bangladeshi nationals. We have asked the BGB to quicken the process of ID verification,” a BSF official said.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)