Senior BSF officers held a meeting with people of villages located along the unfenced international border in Jalpaiguri Sadar block on Thursday and made it clear that the force would be alert to prevent infiltration from Bangladesh.

On Wednesday, attempts had been made by groups of Bangladeshi residents, mostly Hindus, to enter India. The BSF stopped them at the zero point in the Jalpaiguri Sadar block and sent them back to their homeland.

Another group of Bangladeshi residents reached the same location in the South Berubari area, located around 40km from the district headquarters, on Thursday. The BSF troops persuaded them to return to Bangladeshi villages which are on the other side of the border.

On Thursday, the BSF officers held a meeting with villagers at Naljowapara in South Berubari.

“It was an effective meeting. The BSF officers have said that they are vigilant at the border to prevent illegal intrusion of people from the other side. Simultaneously, they have asked the villagers to be on alert and inform the BSF and the police in case they find anything unusual,” said Sarada Prasad Das, a former head of South Berubari panchayat.

“Altogether, there is no fence along a total stretch of 16km here. We have requested the BSF to start erecting fences to avert infiltration and other border crimes,”
Das added.

Mohammad Ibrahim, a resident of Naljowapara, said the villagers apprehended anti-nationals could sneak in through the open border.