New Delhi: Illegal immigrants are facing a tough time, having to pay for their ‘misadventure’.
Just like Donald Trump’s administration has put its foot down in the US, the Indian government has been acting tough against Bangladeshis sans valid documents.
However, Bangladeshi leaders are opposing India’s attempt to send back illegal immigrants, calling it an attack on sovereignty and a risk to their country’s security.
India reportedly sent back 67 Bangladeshis on Tuesday, but 13 people are stuck at the Zero Line between the neighbouring countries on Wednesday, India Today reported.
A senior Bangladesh Army officer had said on May 26 that India’s “pushing in” of undocumented people was “unacceptable” and the force was ready to step in, if needed.
According to reports, around 100 Bangladeshi illegal immigrants have been handed over to the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) in the last few days.
Bangladeshi media, however, claimed over 800 individuals had been “pushed into” the country by India’s Border Security Force (BSF).
“Since May 7, more than 800 individuals, including Indian nationals and Rohingya, have reportedly been pushed into Bangladesh by the Border Security Force of India,” reported Dhaka-based newspaper New Age.
BGB personnel, helped by Bangladeshi villagers, “foiled” BSF’s “attempt to push in 57 people into Bangladesh” early on Wednesday through six different border points in Lalmonirhat district, reported United News of Bangladesh.
The Daily Star reported that 13 individuals, including women and infants, remained stranded at the zero line at Lalmonirghat, “unable to cross into Bangladesh and denied re-entry into India.”
The report said BGB personnel and locals reached the spot upon learning that the BSF was sending back illegal immigrants.
The report quoted Abdus Salam, a BGB Battalion commander at Lalmonirhat, as saying that a flag meeting with the BSF had been requested but didn’t yield any response.
“We are standing by the BGB and will not allow anyone to be forcibly pushed into our country,” a local leader said.
BGB earlier prevented India from putting up barbed-wire fences along the border.
The two countries share a 4,096 km-long border, which till recently was mostly porous.
The Union Home Ministry said earlier this year 3,232 km of the Indo-Bangla border had been fenced.
Bilateral ties between India and Bangladesh ties deteriorated after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled to India after being ousted in a massive students uprising in August 2024.
As per Indian government data, around 20 million illegal immigrants were residing in India in 2016, most of whom would be illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.
