Fresh 'goodwill gesture', BSF hands over Bangladeshi minor boy to BGB

"The boy had inadvertently crossed the International Boundary and entered into Indian territory on Sunday," said the BSF, which is mandated to guard the 4,096 km India-Bangladeah Border, the fifth-longest land border in the world, with West Bengal having the highest length with 2,217 km, Tripura (856km), Meghalaya (443km), Assam (262km) and Mizoram (180km).

The minor was identified as Sahid (15 years), a resident of Goragaon village under the Netrakona district in Bangladesh.

"BSF Meghalaya handed over a Bangladeshi minor boy to Border Guards Bangladesh on the International Border of South Garo Hills who had inadvertently crossed the International Boundary and entered into Indian territory on December 25, 2022," said the BSF in a statement.

A patrolling party of BSF outpost Rongra under 43 Battalion of the BSF intercepted the boy while he was roaming near the International Border, said the force.

"The boy disclosed that he was not aware of the alignment of the International boundary and entered into Indian territory unintentionally," the force said.

Border Guards Bangladesh, the border guarding force of Bangladesh, praised the 'goodwill gesture' by the BSF during the meeting in which the boy was handed over to them.

Every year, the BSF hands over a few hundred men and women, who are intercepted along the India-Bangladesh international border, to the Border Guards Bangladesh without arresting them.

On September 15 this year, patrolling troops of the BSF intercepted at least 19 Bangladeshi nationals, including 13 women, along the international border in West Bengal.

Interrogation revealed that all of them had illegally come to India on different occasions. Some of them were returning home to Bangladesh, while the rest were returning to India for work.

They mostly worked as wage labourers and rag pickers in various cities including Delhi and Mumbai. Unlike normal practice, they were not arrested and handed over to the police by the border guarding agency.

Instead, they were handed over to the Border Guards Bangladesh as a "goodwill gesture.

Data shared by the BSF revealed that around 11,750 people were intercepted by the force in south Bengal along the India-Bangladesh border between 2017 and 2022 (till October 12). Out of this, at least 1,178 were not arrested. They were all handed over to the BGB, the BSF said.

The trend shows that while 378 persons were returned to BGB in 2017 by BSF's South Bengal Frontier, the number came down to 297 in 2018.

In 2019 it dropped further to 22. But since then there has been an upward trend.

In 2020, at least 51 persons were handed over to BGB. Last year, the number shot up to 135, and this year till October it has touched 295.

BSF officials said that by the end of this year the number is expected to cross 300, the highest since 2017. (ANI)