28 more pushed in from India

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) detained 28 individuals after they were pushed in by India's Border Security Force (BSF) through the Thakurgaon and Panchagarh borders early yesterday.

In Thakurgaon, 17 were detained by BGB personnel at the Chapsar border in Haripur upazila in the morning, said Lt Col Abdullah Al Moin Hasan, commanding officer of Dinajpur BGB 42 Battalion.

The group had two men, 11 women, and four children, he said.

According to the BGB official, BSF forcibly sent them into Bangladesh.

Of the 17, five are from Jashore, one from Jhenidah, one from Patuakhali, five from Khagrachhari, one from Barishal, and four from Narail, he claimed.

Lt Col Hasan said the BGB lodged a protest during a flag meeting with BSF officials in the afternoon. However, BSF representatives denied any involvement in push in, he said.

Meanwhile, in Panchagarh, BGB detained 11 individuals -- two men, eight women, and one child -- from Malkadanga and Dhamerghat border areas in Boda upazila early yesterday.

Major Riyadh Morshed, acting commander of Nilphamari BGB 56 Battalion, told this correspondent that during preliminary questioning, the detainees said they had been working in various parts of India for a long time.

They were reportedly detained by Indian police and later handed over to the BSF, who subsequently pushed them into Bangladesh, he added.

The BSF also denied this allegation during a flag meeting with the BGB, he said.

Two cases have been filed with Haripur Police Station in Thakurgaon and Boda Police Station in Panchagarh after the BGB handed over the detainees to police, sources at the stations said.