The Bengal administration and the Border Security Force (BSF), which guards the India-Bangladesh border, have issued alerts for all of the state to prevent untoward incidents that could trigger law and order problems following the unrest in Bangladesh.
BSF officers visited several locations along the Bangladesh border on Monday to review operational preparedness.
The Bengal police have issued an alert against the circulation of fake or instigating videos that could disrupt peace in the state.
Bengal has also raised concern over around 500 trucks from the state that are stranded on the other side of the border and are unable to enter the Indian territory.
The Bengal home department has issued an alert across all police districts in the state asking the district chiefs and the police chiefs to remain vigilant against possibilities of unrest and law and order problems.
“All the police districts have been asked to remain alert. A special alert has been issued in the border districts. They have been asked to be vigilant against any unrest and work in coordination with the agencies that are entrusted with the job of guarding the international border,” said an officer of the rank of additional director-general of police.
A senior official in the state home department said the primary objective was to ensure that Bengal faces minimum impact.
“There are so many issues involved. There is a possibility of circulation of videos that may cause communal tension in the state. We have instructed the police to either pull down such posts or to take legal action against such social media profiles. At any cost we want to ensure there is no law and order problem because of what happened in Bangladesh,” said a senior official in the home department.
The state police have identified around 500 trucks from Bengal that had gone to Bangladesh for trade and are now stuck on the international border on their way back to India.
“We have escalated the matter through proper channels. We have been told they are safe,” said an official.
Senior officers in Bengal police said all the police stations have been asked to keep an eye on places with a Bangladeshi population.
“We will assist them (Bangladeshis in Bengal) if anyone seeks help,” said an officer in the Bengal police directorate.
The BSF said a team of senior officers led by the director general of the force visited the India-Bangladesh border in North 24-Parganas and the Sunderbans.
“The purpose of the visit was to review operational preparedness and strategic deployment of the BSF in these important border
areas. In view of the changed situation in Bangladesh, the BSF has issued an alert
along the Indo-Bangla border and the number of troops deployed along the border has been increased,” said a senior officer.
At Dhamakhali in the Sunderbans, the BSF team took stock of the riverine border.