Around 1,000 Bangladeshis gathered near the zero point close to Sitalkuchi block of Cooch Behar district on Friday seeking refuge in India.

Following the downfall of the Sheikh Hasina government in Bangladesh, this is the second attempt by Bangladeshi nationals, mostly Hindus, to enter the Bengal part of India.

On Friday, the BSF, which guards the India-Bangladesh border, prevented their crossover to Bengal and asked them to return home.

The attempt was made on a day when Union home minister Amit Shah expressed concern over the safety and security of Indian nationals, Hindus and other minority communities in Bangladesh.

Shah announced that the Centre had constituted a committee to monitor the situation along the Bangladesh border.

“In the wake of the ongoing situation in Bangladesh, the Modi government has constituted a committee to monitor the current situation on the Indo-Bangladesh Border (IBB). The committee will maintain communication channels with their counterpart authorities in Bangladesh to ensure the safety and security of Indian nationals, Hindus, and other minority communities living there. The committee will be headed by the ADG, Border Security Force, Eastern Command,” Shah posted on his official X handle.

Sources said the committee would comprise five members, including senior BSF officers and representatives of the Land Ports Authority of India.

On Friday morning, the Bangladeshis were spotted standing in the Khurpa Nala, a stream that flows along the border. Another group of Bangladeshis stood on the agricultural field next to the stream with a plan to enter India.

The area where they have gathered is close to Pathantuli village, an Indian hamlet in Sitalkuchi block.

“It seems they were from Doikhawa and Genduguri villages of Bangladesh which are on the other side of the border. The villages are in Hatibandha upazila (sub-district) of Lalmonirhat district,” said Rafikul Islam, the chief of Goleynaohati panchayat of Sitalkuchi where Pathantuli is located.

“They were desperately requesting the BSF to let them enter India. But the BSF asked them to return home. Some of them stood there till evening,” he added.

Later in the day, senior officials of the Gopalpur sector of the Guwahati frontier of the BSF visited the spot. “The Bangladeshi authorities are also trying to take them back,” said a source.

The BSF issued a press release on the incident.

“Approximately 1,000 individuals, reportedly Bangladeshi nationals, approached the international border, seeking refuge in India. This is a new challenge for the BSF which is primarily entrusted with the security of India’s borders along both Bangladesh and Pakistan,” said the release.

The statement said the BSF asked the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) to take back the Bangladeshis, ensuring that the situation didn’t escalate.

Navneet Mittal, the subdivisional officer of Mathabhanga (the Pathantuli village is under the Mathabhanga subdivision of Cooch Behar), has imposed prohibitory orders, saying shops and markets within one kilometre from the Bangladesh border will remain closed from 8pm to 6am. Restrictions have been imposed on the movement of certain goods and grazing of cattle during this time near the border, said sources.