BSF pushes back Bangladeshi infiltrators; BGB refused acceptance in some cases, says Prestone Tynsong

CORRESPONDENT

SHILLONG: Deputy Chief Minister in charge of Home (Police) Prestone Tynsong has said that the Border Security Force (BSF) immediately pushes back Bangladeshi infiltrators upon detecting attempts to enter Indian territory, though in some instances the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) initially refused to accept them, claiming they were Indian nationals. He said the challenges arise because following the complete legal process under the Foreigners Act is time-consuming, prompting authorities to act swiftly at the border.

Referring to a recent meeting with the BSF, Tynsong said, "Recently, I had a meeting with the BSF. We had a few challenges because, if we proceed strictly as per the Foreigners Act, the process takes a lot of time."

He added, "The moment Bangladeshi infiltrators are detected, or the moment they are found trying to enter Indian territory, the BSF pushes them back immediately. In a few instances, the BGB did not accept these people, saying they were Indians. So, challenges are there."

The Deputy Chief Minister said the disputes were eventually resolved through scrutiny of documents and verification of identities.

"But ultimately, after checking all the documents, they found that these individuals were Bangladeshi, and so they had to accept them," he said.

Tynsong's remarks came in the backdrop of a recent border standoff along the Indo-Bangladesh frontier in Meghalaya's South West Garo Hills district involving 55-year-old Bangladeshi national Sati Rajbanshi, son of late Baghbatta of Chalna village under Narayanpur Post Office and Gudagari Police Station in Rajshahi district. Rajbanshi remained stranded in no-man's land for more than 24 hours after the BSF prevented his entry into India and the BGB initially declined to take him back.

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