Kolkata: Tension erupted in the fenced border area at Sitalkuchi in Cooch Behar district of West Bengal on Friday morning when about a thousand panicked Bangladeshi citizens gathered on the other side of the fence in an attempt to enter India and take refuge. However, the Border Security Force (BSF), which keeps a close watch on the border, foiled this attempt. The Border Security Force has confirmed that later the Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) personnel removed the Bangladeshis from there. The crowd reportedly consisted mostly of Bangladeshi Hindus.

Infiltration attempt failed

All these people had gathered about 400 meters from the fence on the banks of a reservoir in Genduguri and Doikhwa villages of Lalmonirhat district of Bangladesh. The infiltration attempt of foreigners was not successful due to heavy deployment of 157 battalion of BSF in Pathantuli village and monitoring of vehicles and pedestrians. The Bangladeshis were raising slogans demanding entry into India. When asked about the incident, a senior BSF official confirmed that a large number of Bangladeshis had gathered at the border who were later taken back by the BGB.

New challenge for SF

“Bangladeshis had gathered at the border but none could enter the country as the border was completely sealed. They were later taken back to their country by the BGB,” the official said. Following this, a statement issued by the BSF’s Guwahati Frontier described the incident as a “new border challenge”. The statement said that this emerging challenge is new for the BSF. The BSF has been entrusted with the responsibility of guarding the borders with both Bangladesh and Pakistan.