BSF pushes back 60 more Bangladeshis at border

At least 60 Bangladeshi nationals were pushed back into the country by India's Border Security Force (BSF) through the Sylhet and Moulvibazar borders on Wednesday.

In Sylhet, 16 people—eight men, six women, and two children—were sent back via the Atgram border in Kanaighat upazila early in the morning. A patrol team of the 19 BGB Battalion detained them shortly after their re-entry.

Lieutenant Colonel Md Zubayer Anwar, commanding officer of the battalion, said the individuals were confirmed to be Bangladeshis after questioning. They had crossed into India illegally and were later pushed back by BSF.

Kanaighat Police Station's Officer-in-Charge Abdul Alam said the returnees are from Bagerhat and Kurigram. They remain in BGB custody and will be handed over to the police following official procedures.

In Moulvibazar, another 44 people—including 13 men, 18 women, and 13 children—were pushed back through the North Shahbazpur border in Barlekha upazila.

The 52 BGB Battalion confirmed the individuals' identities and said they would be handed over to the police by night. The returnees reportedly went to India in search of work and were detained there before being pushed back at dawn.

Earlier, on May 12, the BGB director general said BSF had pushed back 280 people between May 7 and May 9, including some Rohingyas. Among them, 80 were returned via Khagrachhari, 76 via Moulvibazar, 46 via Kurigram, and 78 were left on Mandarbaria island in the Sundarbans under Satkhira’s Shyamnagar upazila.