Border Security Force | SabrangIndia News Related to Human Rights Tue, 17 Jun 2025 11:56:58 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2.2 https://sabrangindia.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Favicon_0.png Border Security Force | SabrangIndia 32 32 M’tra: Three West Bengal residents pushed into Bangladesh by BSF, return after WB state govt.’s intervention https://sabrangindia.in/mtra-three-west-bengal-residents-pushed-into-bangladesh-by-bsf-return-after-wb-state-govt-s-intervention/ Tue, 17 Jun 2025 11:56:10 +0000 https://sabrangindia.in/?p=42282 Trinamool Congress MP Samirul Islam says that when the workers were picked up by the police in Mumbai, despite all necessary documents being provided by the West Bengal State government

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]]> Three West Bengal residents working in Mumbai were allegedly pushed into Bangladesh by the Border Security Force (BSF) earlier this week and on Sunday (June 15, 2025) returned to the country from the state’s Cooch Behar district.

Minajul Sheikh, a resident of Beldanga in Murshidabad district, told The Hindu that his brother Minarul Sheikh was picked up from Mumbai where he was working and subsequently forced into Bangladesh. Apart from Minarul Sheikh, at least two other workers were pushed into Bangladesh. The three workers — Minraul Sheikh and Nizamuddin Sheikh from Murshidabad and Mostafa Kamal Sheikh from Purba Bardhaman — also sent a video message to their relatives where they can be heard pleading before Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and other public representatives of the State to ensure their return to India.

It was only after the West Bengal government raised the issue, the workers were repatriated to India through the Mekhliganj border in Bangladesh on Sunday afternoon. Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member and chairperson of West Bengal Migrant Welfare Board Samirul Islam said when the workers were picked up by the police in Mumbai, all necessary documents were provided by the State government.

“What has happened is very unfortunate and illegal. These are citizens of India and cannot be illegally pushed into Bangladesh in such a manner,” Mr. Islam said.

On X he said, “Under the leadership and active intervention of our Chief Minister @MamataOfficial, we were finally able to repatriate seven Indian citizens who were illegally pushed back to Bangladesh by the BSF. The Maharashtra Police first detained them on suspicion of being Bangladeshis and then handed them over to the BSF, which carried out the final act of deporting these poor migrant workers to Bangladesh—only because they spoke Bengali. They were deported to Bangladesh despite they showed all relevant proof of being an Indian. 

I have some questions:

  1. How did the Maharashtra Police hand over these migrant workers to the BSF without informing the West Bengal government?
  2. Why didn’t the BSF contact the local administration to verify their identities before forcibly deporting them to another country?
  3. Is there a larger plan by these BJP-ruled states and the BSF to target and harass Bengali-speaking migrant workers?

We will not let this issue go. We will expose the dark forces behind this misdeed and ensure justice.”

The officer-in-charge of the Mekhliganj Police Station Mani Bhusan Sarkar said that after he received information from police stations in Murshidabad and Bardhaman about the Indian nationals in Bangladesh, he informed authorities of the BSF and Border Guard Bangladesh. “The three men were handed over to us [Mekhliganj police station] after a flag meeting at the border,” the Officer-in-Charge said. According to sources, the three men were pushed into Bangladesh on Friday night somewhere along North Bengal and Bangladesh border.

Since mid-May 2025, in a cloak and dagger operation, without any public disclosure, some administrations in India have been “pushing back” undocumented Bangladeshi migrants detained across the country through the eastern border. The Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has expressed concern to India about the “push back” of individuals across the border, particularly undocumented migrants. Interestingly, there is no official word about the “push back” from the BSF. While instances of the “push back” of Bangladeshi nationals has come to the fore in Assam and Tripura, on this occasion, nationals of West Bengal were pushed into Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, Assam has seen the most aggressive of this policy in action. Citizens for Justice and Peace has been at the forefront of documenting and agitating the issue, both with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the Gauhati High Court. The memorandums to the NHRC may be referred to here. No evidence of due process has been followed by the Assam police in detaining without notice, persons who have every reason to state –with documents—that they are Indian. The last month’s coverage of the crisis may be read here, here and here. 

Related:

Assam: Academics, lawyers, activists condemn ‘push back’ of persons to Bangladesh

Assam: When six ordinary Indian women were forcibly pushed out from India–No Man’s land– Bangladesh & then back

Assam: Slamming Sarma’s actions as discriminatory & unlawful, LOP, Assam Assembly Debabrata Saikia calls for an urgent stop to “pushback” of citizens

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]]> PM Narendra Modi names August 14 “Partition Horrors Remembrance Day” https://sabrangindia.in/pm-narendra-modi-names-august-14-partition-horrors-remembrance-day/ Sat, 14 Aug 2021 12:18:10 +0000 http://localhost/sabrangv4/2021/08/14/pm-narendra-modi-names-august-14-partition-horrors-remembrance-day/ Pak Rangers-India’s Border Security Force (BSF) exchange sweets at Attari-Wagah border to mark Pakistan’s Independence Day

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]]> partition Image Courtesy:keralakaumudi.com

On the eve of India’s 75th Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that August 14 will henceforth be observed as “Partition Horrors Remembrance Day”. 

The PM made this major announcement in the quietest of ways, with a post on his twitter handle. “Partition’s pains can never be forgotten. Millions of our sisters and brothers were displaced and many lost their lives due to mindless hate and violence. In memory of the struggles and sacrifices of our people, 14th August will be observed as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day,” he tweeted in Hindi and english adding “may the #PartitionHorrorsRemembranceDay keeps reminding us of the need to remove the poison of social divisions, disharmony and further strengthen the spirit of oneness, social harmony and human empowerment.”

 

Many ministers, including Home Minister echoed the PM and said the Partition Horrors Remembrance Day will “strengthen peace, love & unity by eliminating discrimination and malice from the society.”

As expected the Prime Minister’s sudden tweet went viral within minutes and set off a debate on what the need was to name August 14 as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day. India’s neighbour Pakistan celebrates August 14 as its Independence Day. 

There is always an attempt of cordiality between the two nations, on this day. In fact Pak Rangers and India’s Border Security Force (BSF) guards exchange sweets at Attari-Wagah border on this day to mark Pakistan’s Independence Day. The BSF commandant Jasbir Singh told the media that, “We will also gift sweets to them tomorrow”, as a part of the celebrations of India’s 75th Independence Day on Sunday, August 15. This year too, the occasion was reported widely on both Indian and Pakistan media. It is often dubbed “sweet diplomacy” and is a tradition carried out by the BSF that guards the massive India-Pakistan International Border.

Journalists also shared images of sweets also being exchanged by Indian and Pakistan Army troops stationed at the LoC Mendhar-Hotspring.

The sharp divide on social media was clear, while many who are fans of the PM agreed with his given title to August 14, there was an equal number who believed this was not a gesture that indicated peace and could in fact be most divisive. Some said it was politically motivated and reminded the PM that he himself has often greeted the people of Pakistan on their national days including their Independence Day.

 

Was Aug 14, 1947 ‘Partition day’? 

As recalled in an article on Hindustan Times, Lord Mountbatten, India’s last Viceroy, released a plan on the country’s Independence from the British on June 3, 1947. This was the Mountbatten Plan, which “announced that India would be splitting into two nations after its independence — India and Pakistan. The division came into effect on August 15, 1947.” The plan “included the principles of partition and gave autonomy and sovereignty to both India and Pakistan. It also gave the nations the right to form their own constitution.” 

On August 14, 2021, the government’s press statement on PIB added the reasoning as it were to naming the day. It stated: “Independence Day, which is celebrated on 15th August every year, is a joyous and proud occasion for any nation; however, with the sweetness of freedom came also the trauma of partition. The birth of the newly independent Indian nation was accompanied by violent pangs of partition that left permanent scars on millions of Indians. The partition caused amongst the largest migrations in human history affecting about 20 million people. Millions of families had to abandon their ancestral villages/towns/cities and were forced to find a new life as refugees. While at the stroke of midnight of 14th-15th August, 2021, the entire nation will be celebrating the 75th Independence Day, the pain and violence of partition has remained deeply etched in the nation’s memory. While the country has moved on, to become the largest democracy and the third-largest economy of the world, the pain of partition suffered by the nation can never be forgotten. While celebrating our Independence, a grateful nation also salutes those sons and daughters of our beloved motherland who had to sacrifice their lives in the frenzy of violence.” 

Wall of shipping containers at Red Fort, high alert in Delhi

The national capital of Delhi, all roads leading to Red Fort where the PM will unfurl the National Flag on Independence Day are now covered under a security blanket. It is for the first time that a wall of shipping containers has been placed at the entrance of the Red Fort ahead of the Independence Day celebrations on August 15. The Delhi Police told the media that this has been done for security reasons. At the Red Fort the security arrangements include deployment of “NSG snipers, elite SWAT commandos, kite catchers, canine units and sharpshooters on high-rise buildings,” reported The Mint adding that “anti-drone systems have also been installed at the Red Fort in view of the recent terror attack at IAF station in Jammu airport.” 

Related

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‘Sleeping with the Enemy?’

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