Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has detained at least 59 people after they were allegedly pushed into Bangladesh by Indian authorities through various border points in Moulvibazar district.
The detainees were handed over to local police stations this morning, BGB officials confirmed.
Of the 59 individuals, 15 — including both men and women — were detained at the Dhalai border in Kamalganj upazila on Wednesday morning, while the remaining 44 were held at the Pallarthal border in Barlekha upazila.
Rafiq Uddin Ahmed, chairman of North Shahbazpur Union Parishad in Barlekha, said several people had entered Bangladesh through the border over the past two days and were detained by BGB.
All the detainees are Bengali speakers, he added.
Barlekha Police Station's Officer-in-Charge (investigation), Kamruzzaman, said the 44 detainees were confirmed to be Bangladeshi citizens. "We have contacted their families. They will be handed over to them," he said.
Similarly, Syed Iftekhar Hossain, Officer-in-Charge of Kamalganj Police Station, confirmed that police received 15 individuals detained at the Dhalai border. "They are all Bangladeshi. We are now in contact with their relatives," he said.
Lt Col Md Zakaria, commander of the 46 BGB Battalion, said the identities of all 15 individuals detained in Kamalganj had been verified. Later, they were handed over to Kamalganj police station.
"They are Bangladeshi citizens and will be handed over to their legal guardians," he said.
Patrols have been increased across all border points in Moulvibazar, he added.
When asked, Lieutenant Colonel Mehedi Hasan, commander of Beanibazar Battalion 52 BGB, said they had detained 44 people at the Pallarthal border in Barlekha upazila.
"We have verified that they are Bangladeshis. We have handed them over to the police station."
He also said the detainees informed BGB that they had gone to India at different times in search of jobs. Recently, Indian police arrested them during a raid and later pushed them back into Bangladesh.
Efforts are underway to confirm the addresses of all the detainees, BGB officials said.
FP/MI
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