The India-Bangladesh border in Malda erupted on Saturday as a section of farmers on this side of the border accusing Bangladeshi miscreants of harvesting their crop with support from the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), the charge further compounding the problems facing the bilateral ties that nosedived after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government
The tension along the border peaked this morning as villagers of both the countries gathered around the barbed fences and got engaged in bitter verbal duels even in the presence of the BSF and the BGB.
The trouble started this morning following a buzz in Sukdebpur that their crops had been stolen by Bangladeshis following which hundreds of Indian farmers rushed towards the unfenced stretch where they had their land, shouting anti-Bangladesh slogans. Seeing the agitated Indian farmers, residents on the other side of the border -- which falls under the Chapai-Nawabganj district of Bangladesh -- reacted instantly and hundreds of them came assembled near the border.
“The assembly of ordinary people on both sides of the border and their angry exchanges was quite unprecedented,” said a senior district official in Malda.
Sukdebpur, an otherwise nondescript village in the Kaliachak-III block of the district, had recently hit the headlines when the BGB objected to fencing along an unfenced stretch of the border. The villagers, who were engaged in the work by the CPWD, had also alleged that the BGB personnel had threatened to open fire if they did not stop the work and leave the spot.
Multiple sources said that tension rose in the area this morning following stone pelting from the Bangladeshi side, causing injuries to farmers and even BSF personnel on this side of the border. There were reports that some crude bombs were also lobbed from the Bangladeshi side.
Farmers like Prakash Chandra Ghosh and Uttam Mandal told this newspaper that the tension was due to Bangladeshi miscreants, who trespassed into Indian land and stole standing crops of maize, mustard, and wheat from around 10 bighas of land.
“This is why the BGB deliberately raised objections when BSF was putting fences along the unfenced stretch. The miscreants are often entering into our land and looting our crops,” said Uttam, before adding that the miscreants entered India after paying BGB jawans.
Prakash, who also claimed that he lost his crop, said a BSF jawan was hit by bricks.
“Also, our neighbours Pradip Roy, Sujit Mandal, Bikram Mandal, and Koushik Mandal, sustained injuries because the Bangladeshis tossed bricks,” he said.
The flare-up at the border prompted both the BSF and the BGB to intervene and teargas shells were burst on both sides to disperse the crowd.
Later in the day, Binoy Mondal, a resident of Sukdebpur, accused the BGB of instigating Bangladeshi smugglers and criminals.
“It is because of the BGB’s indulgence that these people are entering our land and looting the crops. We will not let it happen,” said the infuriated villager.