13 Bangladeshis pushed-in by BSF through Feni border

The Indian Border Security Force (BSF) pushed 13 Bangladeshis into the country through the Motua border in Chhagalnaiya upazila of Feni in the early hours of Friday without following due process, according to Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).

A patrol team of BGB’s Chhagalnaiya Border Outpost (BOP) under Battalion-4 found the group [four men, three women, and six children] inside an abandoned house near the Motua area around 9am and detained them, BGB said.

The detained individuals were identified as Md Altaf, 39, his wife Momina Begum, 32; Md Aminul Islam, 38, his wife Urmi Begum, 29; Mominul Haque, 35, his wife Shefali Begum, 30; and Ishraq Hossain, 40. The remaining six are children.

Quoting the detainees, BGB said they were brought to the border with their hands and eyes tied. Taking advantage of bad weather, the BSF untied them and forced them across the border into Bangladesh.

Lt Col Md Mosharraf Hossain, commanding officer of BGB Battalion-4 in Feni, said the BGB company commander lodged a verbal protest with his BSF counterpart over the incident.

BGB said the 13 individuals were handed over to Chhagalnaiya Police Station. The local administration will take further action regarding them.

Chhagalnaiya Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Nazrul Islam said the detainees are currently being sheltered at a room in Motua Government Primary School and are receiving food and necessary assistance.

“A formal protest note will be sent over the incident,” said Lt Col Mosharraf.

Since May 7, the BSF has illegally pushed almost a thousand individuals into Bangladesh - not all of them Bangladeshis -through various points of the border.