BGB rescues family of five on Khagrachhari border after ‘India push-in’

The family says they worked in a brickfield in India’s Haryana

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) have rescued a family of five individuals near the Ramgarh border in Khagrachhari, who were allegedly forced into Bangladesh across the Feni River by India’s Border Security Force (BSF).

Members of the Mahamuni Border Outpost under Ramgarh BGB Battalion-43 detained them on charges of illegal entry after they were pulled out of the river around 6am on Thursday.

Ramgarh Upazila’s acting Executive Officer, Ismat Jahan Tuhin, said BSF reportedly forced them across the border into Bangladesh near the Ramgarh-Sabroom border around midnight on Wednesday.

The individuals, now in the custody of Bangladeshi authorities, have been identified as Umed Ali, 42, his wife Selina Begum, 35, and their three daughters, aged 8, 12, and 15. They are natives of Kurigram.

Umed Ali claimed that they had been working as labourers at a brickfield in India’s Haryana.

He said they were detained by Indian authorities who bound their hands and feet and brought them to the border.

“Around midnight, they beat us and pushed us into the river. Before doing so, they tied empty plastic bottles around our waists so we would float to the border,” he said.

The family drifted to the Bangladeshi side of the border around 5am. With the help of locals, they reached Sonaipool, and from there, BGB officers took them into custody.

Ismat said the family was being held at Ramgarh High School under BGB and police supervision on humanitarian grounds. Authorities are working to verify their identities before taking action.

In the meantime, the administration is providing them with food and other essentials.

This incident comes shortly after another reported push-in incident by the BSF on May 6, when 81 people were forced across the border into Bangladesh through the Matiranga and Panchhari borders in Khagrachhari.