Staff Reporter :
India’s Border Security Force (BSF) pushed 153 individuals – alleging those Bangladeshi nationals – into Bangladeshi territory via the Beanibazar border in Sylhet and the Barlekha border in Moulvibazar on Saturday night.
According to Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), 121 people were detained in Barlekha’s Shahbazpur tea garden and Latu areas, and 32 others were apprehended from a wetland in Nayagram, Beanibazar.
However, this ongoing practice by the BSF is unacceptable and inhumane. It violates international standards governing the treatment of undocumented or displaced individuals, said a BGB official, requesting anonymity.
BGB sources noted that many of the individuals had been living and working in India for several years, employed in brick kilns, households, or as painters in states like Gujarat and Bihar. These individuals were reportedly rounded up and expelled without due process, raising concerns of human rights violations.
Lieutenant Colonel Md Mehedi Hasan, Commander of the 52 BGB Battalion, confirmed that the individuals are being temporarily housed at a local school, where their identities are being recorded before they are transferred to Beanibazar police.
This latest incident marks the third such pushback in less than two weeks, with 69 individuals forcibly returned across the Sylhet border during this period. According to Nayagram Border Outpost (BOP) officials, the BSF placed the group inside a wetland well within Bangladeshi territory under cover of night.
Bangladesh has strongly condemned India’s continued practice of forcibly pushing individuals across the shared border, terming it a flagrant violation of international law and bilateral agreements. Despite repeated diplomatic requests for cooperation, India’s Border Security Force (BSF) reportedly continues nighttime pushbacks, drawing sharp criticism from Dhaka.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has reiterated its protest and has sent diplomatic communications to Delhi urging an immediate end to these unauthorised actions and calling for repatriation through legal and mutually agreed procedures. However, no official response has been received from the Indian authorities.
Legal experts and human rights advocates argue that India’s actions violate international humanitarian law, including provisions of the Geneva Convention and the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits forced return without proper legal process.
Bilateral tensions have escalated since the fall of the Awami League government in July last year. India’s historically close ties with the former administration under Sheikh Hasina have cooled under the interim government led by Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus.
Shortly after the new government assumed office, India significantly slowed its visa processing for Bangladeshi nationals, citing security concerns and staffing shortages.
However, the backlog remains unresolved even after nine months. Additionally, India has imposed restrictions on cross-border trade, including the closure of key ports to Bangladeshi exports, which analysts view as a deliberate diplomatic snub.
Further complicating relations, the interim government has launched war crimes and accountability tribunals for those allegedly involved in last year’s mass uprisings, including former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also formally requested India to extradite Hasina to face charges of culpable homicide.
As tensions mount, diplomatic observers warn that continued unilateral actions at the border and a breakdown in dialogue may further strain relations between the two South Asian neighbours.
