Shillong(Meghalaya), Jan 4 : The Border Security Force (BSF) said that Bangladeshis are returning to their own country following the Narendra Modi government’s proposal to introduce National Register of Citizens (NRC) in India.
When asked about apprehensions that Bangladeshis may enter the country, following the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, BSF Meghalaya Frontier Inspector General, Kuldeep Saini said, as per inputs received by the BSF, Bangladeshis are returning to their country.
“The input that we are getting is the other way round. People from Bangladesh, who have illegally crossed over to India, are going back to Bangladesh and they were apprehended there,” Saini told media persons.
The BSF Inspector General however pointed out that there were no such crossings from the Meghalaya Frontier.
He further said Bangladeshis living in cities like Bangalore are returning through Assam and Tripura, due to the ethnic similarity of the people in those places.
Saini said that the BSF has seen Bangladesh media reports quoting the Director General of Border Guards Bangladesh of these movements but no official report has been received by them from their counterparts.
He also said that BSF believes in reports which states that nearly 1,000 Bangladesh nationals were detained in Bangladesh in 2019 for living in India “illegally”.
Meanwhile, on the issue cattle smuggling and the seized cattle making their way back to the smugglers, Saini said that the BSF has been taking measures like putting “markings” on them.
He also said that the Ministry of Home Affairs has directed the BSF to immediately hand over the cattle seized from smugglers to the customs officials.
It may be mentioned that the BSF had stated that it apart from guarding the international border had to take care of the seized cattle, most of which are sick due to the inhuman methods adopted by smugglers in transporting them.
According to the border guarding force, the cattle were mostly transported in trucks wherein they were cruelly stuffed and cramped in trucks with their limbs and mouths tied up.
Saini also informed that in 2019, the BSF in Meghalaya seized 10,239 cattle head worth Rs 16,86,51,930 along the international border with Bangladesh.
He said that out of these more than 1000 cattle died while 1100 cattle are still under the care of the BSF.
The BSF Inspector General, Meghalaya Frontier also informed that along the 443 km long international border with Bangladesh in the State, the unfenced area is around 72.8 km.
According to him, in a stretch of 47 km, work on border fencing is under progress, which is largely under West Jaintia Hills and East Khasi Hills.
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