No significant rise in interception at Bangladesh border after Hasina's ouster: Indian data

Indian government data from the past six years has shown no significant increase in the number of undocumented people intercepted whilst entering or leaving India on the border with Bangladesh in the wake of Hasina's ouster, says The Hindu.

Between August 5, when former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled to India, and November 27, a total of 1,393 Bangladeshis were apprehended along the international border. From January 1 to August 4, the number of such apprehensions stood at 1,144, data accessed by The Hindu shows.

In all, 3,907 undocumented people have been intercepted along the Bangladesh border this year, which includes Indians and people from other nationalities.

In the whole of 2023, as many as 5,095 undocumented people were intercepted, including 3,137 Bangladeshis.

Other than undocumented Bangladeshis, the Border Security Force (BSF) deployed along the border also intercepted 873 Indians entering Bangladesh without any documents from January 1 to August 4.

The number of Indians who wanted to cross over to Bangladesh from August 5 to November 27 stood at 388.

This year, 109 people from other nationalities, including Myanmar, were also stopped at the border.

In 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022, the number of Bangladeshis intercepted were 2,995, 2,480, 3,295, 2,451, and 3,074, respectively.

After the recent arrest in Dhaka of Chinmoy Krishna Das, spokesperson of the Bangladesh Sammilito Sanatani Jagaran Jote, an umbrella group of minority religious communities, in an alleged case of sedition, the BSF has tightened its vigil along the border.

"There could be instances when members of the minority community may want to enter India fearing for their safety, but till now, no such scenario has emerged. There were a few reports from Dinajpur in north Bengal but no mass movement of people is noticed so far. We will stop unauthorised entry of all people," a senior BSF official said.

After Hasina escaped to India on August 5, violence erupted in the neighbouring country, and in several cases, members of the Hindu community, temples, and shops owned by members of the community, were specifically targeted.

The BSF, deployed along India's 4,096-km long border with Bangladesh, has been on a heightened vigil since August, with instructions from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) "to not allow anyone into the country without valid documents".

In certain instances, the BSF pushes back illegal migrants in coordination with the Border Guards Bangladesh, as registering a police case involves a long-drawn legal and deportation process.

After August 5, the BSF has held hundreds of meetings with officials of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) to ensure the safety and security of minorities in Bangladesh.