Four migrants attempt to enter India amid unrest in Bangladesh: Assam CM Himanta Biswa

Karimganj (Assam) [India], August 12 (ANI): Four Bangladeshi citizens who were attempting to enter India through the Karimganj sector of the India-Bangladesh border were intercepted by the police, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

According to CM Sarma, the Bangladeshi citizens have been identified as Motiur Seikh, Mushiar Mullah, Tania Mullah, and Rita Mullah.

“This morning at 1:30 AM, Bangladeshi citizens identified as Motiur Seikh, Mushiar Mullah, Tania Mullah, and Rita Mullah attempted to enter India through the Karimganj sector of the India-Bangladesh border. However, police effectively intervened at the zero point and promptly repelled them, preventing their unauthorized entry,” the Chief Minister said in a post on X on Monday.

Earlier, in a well-planned operation carried out on August 10, BSF troops, in collaboration with the Meghalaya Police, apprehended seven Bangladeshi nationals along with two Indian facilitators at a checkpoint, said BSF in a statement on Sunday.

All the apprehended illegal Bangladeshi migrants with Indian facilitators were handed over to the concerned police station for further disposal and legal action, added BSF.

Meanwhile, the Border Security Force (BSF) is on high alert along the Indo-Bangladesh border in Assam in response to the ongoing crisis in Bangladesh.

District Commissioner Mridul Yadav said that the Integrated Check Post (ICP) has been closed and not just import-export, even the movement of people is closed.

“We are on high alert and are ensuring that no incident of violence takes place. The BSF is on high alert. The Integrated Check Post (ICP) has been closed since Monday and not just import-export, even the movement of people is closed. An army company has come, they are camping with the BSF to provide additional security… Since last week, no Indian student or Indian citizen has come to this side,” Yadav told ANI.

In Assam, four districts – Cachar, Karimganj, Dhubri, and South Salmara, share their border with Bangladesh.

Bangladesh is facing a fluid political situation after Sheikh Hasina, tendered her resignation from the position of Prime Minister on August 5 in the wake of mounting protests. An interim government headed by Professor Mohd. Younus has since taken charge in Dhaka.

The protests erupted in early July due to demands for reforming the quota system that reserves civil service jobs for specific groups, including descendants of 1971 war veterans.

The unrest intensified after students opposed a new policy allocating government jobs to descendants of freedom fighters, leading to violence, including attacks on state television headquarters and police booths in Dhaka.