In what comes as a significant development in the India-Bangladesh border issues, Indian farmers accuse Bangladesh of building a bunker at the border near Sukhdevpur village in the Malda district of West Bengal. Farmers also claim that the Bangladeshi troops have positioned themselves with weapons in the bunker. Notably, after Sheikh Hasina left Bangladesh in August last year following her ouster, Dhaka has witnessed instability with the interim government repeatedly issuing anti-India statements.
Meanwhile, border issues have intensified between both countries as Bangladesh recently raised the issue of India installing fences or barbed wire in the 2,217 km stretch adjoining West Bengal.
Farmers in Sukhdevpur add that Bangladeshi Border Guards disrupt fencing at the border and also issue threats to shoot. The locals allege that Bangladeshi troops sitting in the bunker encourage the infiltrators to harvest Indian land.
Bangladesh to equip paramilitary border guards with non-lethal sound grenades
In another major development on Monday, Bangladesh's government said it will equip the country's paramilitary border guards with non-lethal sound grenades and tear gas canisters, mirroring practices adopted by its Indian counterpart.
Home Affairs Adviser retired Lieutenant General M Jahangir Alam Chowdhury confirmed the decision during a press briefing at the Secretariat here.
"We have already approved the procurement of sound grenades and tear gas shells for Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB),” he told reporters in reply to a question after a meeting on law and order attended by Social Welfare Adviser Sharmin Murshid and Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus' special assistant Khuda Baksh.
When asked about India's potential reaction to the move, Chowdhury said there is no reason for New Delhi to view the decision "negatively", as its Border Security Force (BSF) has already employed similar non-lethal weaponry along the shared border.
India-Bangladesh summon each other's envoy
Recently, Bangladesh’s foreign ministry summoned Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma over border tensions. Earlier, Bangladesh alleged that India was trying to construct fences at five locations along the Indo-Bangla border, in violation of a bilateral agreement.
In response, the Ministry of External Affairs on Monday summoned Nural Islam, Deputy High Commissioner of Bangladesh to discuss the escalating tensions between New Delhi and Dhaka.
(With inputs from Omkar)
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