Infiltration Attempts At Bangladesh Border In Assam Foiled

In a swift and decisive operation this morning, the Border Security Force or BSF successfully thwarted an infiltration attempt by a group of Bangladeshi nationals along the Indo-Bangladesh Border in Assam's South Salmara Mankachar district.

The incident occurred in the early hours when BSF personnel deployed at the International Border observed suspicious movement from the Bangladesh side. 

A group was approaching the border with apparent intentions to cross into Indian territory. Reacting promptly, the BSF troops challenged the group, preventing their unauthorised entry. 

Faced with resistance, the Bangladeshi group retreated without any further escalation.

This incident came amid unconfirmed reports of videos that emerged in social media that showed more than a dozen people standing near the Zero Line of the international border between India and Bangladesh, beyond the barbed wire fence.

Over the last few days, at least 150 suspected illegal Bangladesh nationals have been 'pushed back' through various point on the border in Assam, the state's border police sources said.

Over the last weekend, the Assam police launched a major document verification drive and picked up scores of people suspected to be illegal migrants living in the state, said police sources.

Bangladesh has responded to India's pushback strategy. The newly appointed Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh, Ruhul Alam Siddique, said, "The issue of verification simply cannot be done only by name. Which individual is which person has to be identified correctly. That is why background checks are required."

"We are working on this seriously and our High Commissioner designated is also in town to discuss how to handle it. We have to work it out. We can say that our relevant agencies are working round the clock. We want to work out an amicable solution on this with our neighbouring country and we are ensuring that non-Bangladeshis are not sent to our country. We are talking to them officially and unofficially and working on it," he added.

The Bangladesh Army has said it would intervene in the matter only if need arises.