BGB, BSF claim fall in incidence of crime along India-Bangladesh border

A four-day BSF-BGB regional-commander level talks has ended at Agartala on a positive note with both sides acknowledging a fall in border crimes and calling for better co-ordination between the border guards of India and Bangladesh.

The team leaders of both the border guards stressed such coordination at a joint press briefing held at the BSF Tripura Frontier headquarters in Salbaganon Wednesday. 

ADG BGB Md Habibul Karim, who led a 20-members BGB team, said both sides discussed ways to ensure better border management through coordination, cooperation and exchange of information.

The ADG also said Bangladesh was benefiting with India from the barbed-wire fence that India had erected along the India-Bangladesh border.

Karim said, “There should be fencing all around, and we cannot tell the Indian government not to erect it.

“It is definitely needed. If you didn’t erect the fence, we would have jointly constructed it. It is required, as criminals have to be checked.”

He said barbed wire, tight vigil of the BSF and other initiative of the Indian government had yielded positive results by cutting down the smuggling of contrabands like phensydel, a source of major worry for the BGB and the Bangladesh government.

When asked if the smuggling of contraband and drugs fallen, Karim said, “Of course.”

“We have the statistics. We have also taken anti-narcotic drive in our country.”

He said a campaign was on in schools and colleges against drugs, and public meetings were being held to raise awareness.

“I thank the BSF also because they have extended their help. Some of the factories have been stopped, some factories have been demolished, and phensydel smuggling has come down.”

The officer said, taking a cue from the positive impact of border fencing along the India-Bangladesh, the Bangladesh government had initiated steps to fence the country’s border with Myanmar.

“Along the Myanmar-Bangladesh border, we have taken up a project to construct 271 miles barbed wire fencing at Bangladesh’s cost. We are constructing there,” said the BGB ADG Karim.

He said 17 new BOPs had been constructed along the Myanmar-Bangladesh border and the expectation was that, by December this year, more areas would be covered.

The leader of the Bangladesh team, however, felt there was room greater vigil in India to stop cattle smuggling, which mainly took place from West Bengal and often led to death in incidents of firing.

On increasing incidents of Islamic fundamentalist activities in Bangladesh, the BGB official said there was no foreign involvement in those incidents and the Bangladesh government was firmly dealing with the situation.

Karim said, “We do not have any foreign involvement in our territory. Terrorism is growing because of some home-grown terrorist activities.

He added that to ensure security on the India-Bangladesh frontier, Bangladesh had constructed several BOPs and many more were in the pipeline.

“As far as we are concerned, we are trying to ensure the safety and security of the border in the past one year, we have constructed 35 new BOPs (border out posts).”

India’s BSF team leader IG (Meghalaya) P K Dubey emphasised better border management because of the improved relation between the border guards of the two nations.

He said infiltration, trans-border crime, crossing of militants, and drugs peddling had drastically fallen.

Dubey said several problems, like illegal immigration, had been contained.

The Inspector General said a key factor along with border fencing and flood lighting bringing down the incidents and smuggling was the setting up of border haats.

He said the setting up of such haats in India’s North-eastern region and West Bengal would further reduce border crimes.

India and Bangladesh have 4096-km-long border. of which Tripura’s shares is 856 km with most of it fenced except few small pockets and riverine areas.