BGB foiled 36 push-in attempts since West Bengal election: Salahuddin

Published : Wednesday, 17 June, 2026 at 6:59 PM Count : 19

The Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has prevented 36 push-in attempts by India's Border Security Force (BSF) since the assembly elections in West Bengal, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said.

He was responding to a question from Mohammad Abdul Malik MP at the parliament today.

The home minister said that, of the 2,369 people pushed into Bangladesh by the BSF since August 5, 2024, 2,175 were handed over to relevant police stations, 11 were handed back to the BSF, and 183 were pushed back.

Replying to the question on government measures to prevent border killings, push-in attempts and narcotics smuggling, Salahuddin said efforts were underway to bring border killings down to zero through meetings held at various levels, including BGB-BSF director general-level conferences.

The BSF has been requested to use non-lethal weapons while integrated patrols and surveillance along sensitive sections of the border have been intensified, he said.

Faced with sustained diplomatic and strategic pressure from Bangladesh, the BSF has repeatedly pledged to stop using lethal weapons along the border m, the minister said.

The government has identified vulnerable stretches of the frontier as high-risk zones and imposed movement controls. The BGB is maintaining round-the-clock security across the five to seven kilometre areas of responsibility of Border Outposts (BOPs).

To prevent the killing of Bangladeshi citizens and forced push-ins by the BSF, permanent and temporary observation posts have been established at strategic border points, while night patrols have been strengthened to disrupt drug trafficking and smuggling routes.

Modern surveillance technologies are being used extensively in riverine and remote hilly border areas, the minister said. Thermal imagers, night-vision devices and CCTV systems are being deployed to monitor activities during darkness and dense fog and to prevent push-ins, drug trafficking and other forms of smuggling.

Drone surveillance is also being used in sensitive areas near the zero line and barbed-wire fencing to foil illegal infiltration and border crime attempts.

To prevent push-ins and smuggling, a Border Community Watch Group comprising local public representatives and community leaders has been formed, while public awareness campaigns are being conducted through miking.

In response to a separate question from Nilofar Chowdhury Moni, the home minister said the killing of innocent Bangladeshi citizens by the BSF was deeply tragic and a clear violation of human rights.

He said the issue had been raised strongly during BGB-BSF director general-level border conferences between the two countries.

There has been no specific institutional discussion or agreement regarding direct financial assistance from the Indian government to the families of those killed in BSF firing along the border, he said.

He added that joint night patrols by the BGB and BSF in sensitive border areas had been increased to reduce border killings and curb cross-border crime, while prompt flag meetings at the company and battalion commander levels were being used to defuse tensions following any untoward incident.

FP/MI