[🇧🇩] Atrocities of BSF/How BGB responds

[Saif]

BGB-BSF TALKS: Dhaka to highlight border killings, push-ins

Dhaka will widely discuss the border killing and push-in issues in the 57th four-day director general-level talks between the Border Guard Bangladesh and the Indian Border Security Force, which began on Monday in New Delhi, India.

www.newagebd.net

BGB-BSF TALKS: Dhaka to highlight border killings, push-ins
Staff Correspondent 09 June, 2026, 00:30

Dhaka will widely discuss the border killing and push-in issues in the 57th four-day director general-level talks between the Border Guard Bangladesh and the Indian Border Security Force, which began on Monday in New Delhi, India.

In the inaugural day of the four-day summit, the two forces will select issues to be discussed in the next three days, according to BGB headquarters officials.

‘We usually discussed widely over border killings, but this time the push-in issue has become more important as the BSF has been making such attempts along with the longstanding border killings issue,’ a BGB HQ official said on request to be not named.

The border guards of the two neighbouring countries engaged in showdowns at many border points, with the BGB resisting BSF bids to push people into Bangladesh and set up barbed wire fence in 150 yards of the no-man’s-land in violation of the international law.

A 15-member delegation, led by BGB director general Major General Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui, is attending the four-day programme that will end on June 11.

‘Today is the first day of the four-day talks. We will issue a press statement about the talks after the end on June 11,’ said BGB headquarters deputy director general (Media) Colonel Abul Hasnat Mohamamd Mahmud Azam.

Dhaka has also set major issues, including constructing barbed wire fence within 150 yards of the no-man’s land and resolving the ongoing development projects, installing optical fibre through the Tin-Bigha corridor—Dahagram-Patgram area, preventing human trafficking, arms and other smuggling, illegal flying of drones and helicopters in Bangladesh territory and the dispute over the demarcation of Muhurirchar near Parshuram in Feni and Belonia in India’s South Tripura.

Other issues include embankment protection of transboundary rivers, installing effluent treatment plants for releasing industrial wastes and draining water into four cross-border canals from Agartala in India to Akhaura, exchange of regional armed groups activities and the information and implementation of the Coordinated Border Management Plan for border management and resolving border disputes.

Dhaka will also discuss how to stop sharing negative propaganda about Bangladesh and bordering areas on Indian media and social media platforms.

According to Bangladesh authorities, Bangladesh shares 4,156-kilometre-long border with India, of which some 180 kilometres fall on different water bodies and 79 kilometres on the Sundarban.

The BGB-BSF DG-level conference is held twice annually, alternately once in New Delhi and once in Dhaka.

In the concluding day of the 56th BGB-BSF summit at the BGB Pilkhana headquarters in Dhaka on August 28, 2025, the BSF had repeated the promise that it would bring down the border killing to zero.

The BGB had also protested at the push-ins of people through the border by the BSF in that summit.

Despite repeated BSF pledges, the killing of Bangladeshis by the BSF and Indian citizens along the border in 2025 marked the highest level in the past five years -- with 34 killings.

At least eight Bangladeshis were killed by the BSF either in firing or by torture in the first five months of this year, of whom four were killed between January and April while May alone accounted for four killings, showing a sharp spike of border killings in recent times.​

 

[Saif]

Bangladesh protests to India over violations at 68 border points

Bangladesh has formally protested to India over the construction of barbed-wire fencing and other infrastructure projects along the Bangladesh-India border, alleging violations of existing bilateral procedures. Dhaka has informed New Delhi that various irregularities or deviations have been...

en.prothomalo.com

Bangladesh protests to India over violations at 68 border points

Raheed Ejaz
Dhaka
Published: 11 Jun 2026, 10: 09

BGB-BSF director general level meeting underway in New Delhi, India Facebook page of BSF.

Bangladesh has formally protested to India over the construction of barbed-wire fencing and other infrastructure projects along the Bangladesh-India border, alleging violations of existing bilateral procedures.

Dhaka has informed New Delhi that various irregularities or deviations have been identified in fencing projects at 68 locations along the border. It has stated that work on barbed-wire fencing at another 86 locations cannot commence until those irregularities are rectified.

In a communication sent this week to the Indian High Commission in Dhaka, Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Indian authorities had carried out various activities within 150 yards of the border without obtaining Bangladesh’s consent.

These activities include attempts to construct barbed-wire fencing, construction or repair of roads, establishment of border posts or other structures, and construction of bridges, culverts, embankments, or similar defensive infrastructure.

Bangladesh maintains that these activities are inconsistent with the 1975 Joint Guidelines of the Bangladesh-India Border Authorities and existing bilateral understandings and procedures governing activities in border areas. Dhaka therefore expects India to take the necessary steps to address these irregularities.

The message was conveyed by Bangladesh around the time the Director General-level meeting between the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and India’s Border Security Force (BSF) began in New Delhi.

Wednesday marked the third day of the talks, during which both sides discussed finalising the draft of the agreed minutes of the meeting. The four-day meeting concludes today, Thursday.

However, diplomatic sources said that, unlike previous occasions, the two sides will not hold a joint press conference after the meeting and will instead issue a press release.

The BGB-BSF meeting is taking place amid continued attempts by India to push people into Bangladesh. Bangladesh has described such “push-ins” as illegal, contrary to human rights, and in violation of international law.

India, on the other hand, has maintained that it is repatriating undocumented foreign nationals in accordance with its domestic laws and established procedures.

On Tuesday night, the BSF again attempted a push-in through the Rahimpur border area of Dewanganj Upazila in Jamalpur district. However, the attempt was thwarted due to the vigilance of BGB personnel and local residents. The BSF had previously made a similar attempt through the same location.

Dhaka’s protest

Diplomatic sources said that Bangladesh had also protested to India in February last year over similar border activities, including attempts to construct fencing. In its latest communication, Dhaka highlighted irregularities identified along the border between February 2025 and May 2026.

According to Bangladesh, India carried out various activities within 150 yards of the border without obtaining Bangladesh’s consent. Such incidents were identified at a total of 68 locations.

In some cases, multiple violations occurred at the same site. These included 39 instances of attempts to construct barbed-wire fencing, 33 cases involving road construction or repair, 27 instances of constructing border posts or other structures, 20 cases involving bridges, culverts, embankments, or similar defensive installations, and 18 other infrastructure-related activities.

In its objection sent to India, Bangladesh stated that although there is a rule prohibiting the deployment of border guards or other armed personnel within 150 yards of the zero line, armed BSF personnel have been observed performing duties in those areas after the fencing was installed.

The protest further noted that at several locations, welded wire mesh and bulletproof barbed-wire fencing had been constructed in deviation from the approved designs.

In most cases, fencing could have been erected farther from the border, but was instead built close to the zero line without any acceptable justification. Bangladesh also alleged that patrol posts, entry gates, CCTV cameras, and searchlights had been installed alongside the fencing without its approval.

Dhaka’s position is that work should not resume at the 68 completed sites and five under-construction sites where deviations have been identified until the irregularities are corrected.

Likewise, at the 86 locations where barbed-wire fencing has not yet begun, Bangladesh has said that joint inspections must first be completed and the minutes of bilateral discussions finalized before construction can proceed.

Bangladesh has also called for an end to the presence of BSF personnel or other armed members within 150 yards of the zero line.

Former ambassador M Humayun Kabir believes that both countries should take initiatives to restore normalcy and avoid the continuing tensions surrounding push-in incidents along the Bangladesh-India border.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, he said that it was desirable for both sides to make efforts through existing institutional mechanisms to overcome the current tensions and move toward a more stable situation.​

 

[Saif]

The Financial Express | First Financial Daily of Bangladesh

Get latest stock share market news, financial news, economy news, politics news, breaking news, Bangladesh economy news at The Financial Express.

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

BSF shoots and kills Bangladeshi national at Moulvibazar border

bdnews24.com

Published :
Jun 13, 2026 00:03
Updated :
Jun 13, 2026 00:03

A 20-year-old Bangladeshi national has been shot dead by India’s Border Security Force (BSF) in Moulvibazar’s Kaulaura Upazila.

The incident occurred around 7:45pm in the Duttagram area near the Sharifpur border in the Upazila, according to Lt Col Sarkar Asif Mahmud, commander of the 46 BGB Sreemangal Battalion.

The deceased has been identified as Md Mujib Ali, a local resident.

The BGB said a group of six to seven Bangladeshi “smugglers” entered Lakhairchar in India, approximately 500 yards from the border pillar 1852/5-S, with the help of Indian traffickers.
Members of the 199th Battalion BSF Lathiapura camp stopped the “smugglers” at the time. Angered by this, the Bangladeshi smugglers tried to attack the BSF personnel with makeshift weapons.

The BSF members fired two or three shots at the smugglers in self-defence. Mujib Ali was shot and died on the spot. The BGB said the other “smugglers” escaped and went into hiding.

It added, “It is known that the victim was previously involved in transporting smuggled goods.”

Sharifpur union council member Md Harun Or Rashid said he had heard of two more people being shot and injured in the incident.

He, however, failed to identify them.

Kulaura Police Inspector (investigation) Md Habibur Rahman said a team of police was heading to the scene.

Lt Col Sarkar said, “After rain started in the evening, their patrol members heard the sound of a few gunshots.

“Later, when the BSF was contacted about the matter, they informed us about the incident. Discussions with the BSF are under way.”​

 

[Saif]

BSF abducts Bangladeshi youth

The Border Guard Bangladesh foiled three more alleged push-in attempts by the Indian Border Security Force at separate border points in Chuadanga and Kurigram on Sunday.

www.newagebd.net

BSF abducts Bangladeshi youth
BGB fires on Indian smugglers, foils 3 more BSF push-in bids

Staff Correspondent 14 June, 2026, 10:33

Representational image. | Collected photo

The Border Guard Bangladesh foiled three more alleged push-in attempts by the Indian Border Security Force at separate border points in Chuadanga and Kurigram on Sunday.

With these incidents, BGB personnel and local residents have foiled at least 46 alleged push-in attempts by the BSF since early May, following the Indian Bharatiya Janata Party’s assumption in power in the West Bengal state, according to the BGB.

On Saturday evening, the Indian BSF allegedly detained a Bangladeshi youth and took him into Indian territory after assaulting him along the Darshana border under Damurhuda upazila in Chuadanga.

In the same evening in Moulvibazar, an Indian national was injured in BGB firing at Borolekha border as two Indian smuggling suspects attacked BGB members with sharp weapons after entering Bangladesh territory.

On Sunday morning, the BGB foiled BSF’s two attempts to push in six people through the Goatapara border point and three people through the Ijlamari border point, both areas under Rahumari upazila in Kurigram.

Lieutenant Colonel Hasanur Rahman, commanding officer of BGB-35 Battalion in Jamalpur, in charge of border security of neighbouring Kurigram also, said that a company commander level flag meeting was held on Sunday but the issue remained unresolved.

‘The nine people, including women and children, are now stranded in the no-man’s-land in the Indian territory,’ Hasanur told New Age.

The same day at about 4:00am, members of the BGB foiled an attempt by the Indian BSF to push 11 people into Bangladesh through the Darshana-Joynagar border in Chuadanga, New Age correspondent in Kusthia reported.

BGB-6 Battalion in Chuadanga commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Md Nazmul Hasan said that the BSF had gathered 11 people on the Indian side of the border adjacent to Pillar 75 near the Darshana international checkpost.

On information, BGB members immediately went alert position along the border, while local villagers also gathered in the area.

The BSF personnel then withdrew and later removed the 11 people from the zero-line, said BGB officer Nazmul Hasan.

Meanwhile in Kushtia’s Daulatpur upazila, 12 people, including women and children, remain stranded in the no-man’s-land along the Pragpur border for three days after the BGB thwarted an alleged push-in attempt from the BSF.

The two forces held a flag meeting in this connection on Saturday that failed to yield any result.

BGB headquarters data reveal that India pushed 2,344 people, including 126 Indian nationals, into Bangladesh between May 7, 2025 and January 26, 2026, excluding Rohingyas, including those registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

A BGB headquarters release said that when they challenged two Indian smuggling suspects at Borolekha border, they launched an attack on the BGB members with sharp weapons at about 8:45pm on Saturday.

The BGB opened fire in self-defence and brought the situation under control, injuring one of them. Both the suspected smugglers fled to India, the release added.

The BSF allegedly detained a Bangladeshi youth and took him into Indian territory after assaulting him along the Darshana border under Damurhuda upazila in Chuadanga on Saturday evening, New Age correspondent in Kusthia also reported quoting BGB officials and local people.

The incident took place just before dusk near the Darshana-Gede International Checkpost area.

The detained youth, Zulfiqar, 22, son of Kalo Moulvi of Joynagar village in Darshana, works at a biscuit factory in Ramnagar area.

Bangladesh shares 4,156-kilometre-long border with India, of which some 180km falls on different water bodies and 79km on the Sundarban.​

 

[Saif]

How social media is reshaping the Bangladesh-India border conflict

Algorithms amplify content that provokes anger, fear and tribal solidarity. In the context of a border dispute, this creates ideal conditions for ultra-nationalist narratives to flourish.

www.thedailystar.net

How social media is reshaping the Bangladesh-India border conflict

Anas Ansar

For weeks, scenes unfolding along the Bangladesh–India border have exposed one of South Asia's most troubling realities. Women huddling with their children beneath makeshift shelters in the rain. Elderly men stranded in no-man’s land. Border guards exchanging accusations across fences. People caught between states that refuse to acknowledge them as their citizens.

The recent push-in attempts from India into Bangladesh have generated political controversy in both countries. Yet beyond the immediate diplomatic dispute lies a less visible but profound transformation: the emergence of social media as a powerful actor in border governance. The Bangladesh–India border is no longer merely a physical frontier patrolled by security forces. It has become a digital spectacle, livestreamed, debated, celebrated and weaponised in real time.

This social-mediatisation of border conflict represents a profound challenge to the maintenance of order. What was once managed through diplomatic channels, institutional protocols and controlled communication now unfolds before millions of online spectators. The result is a volatile mixture of ultra-nationalism, misinformation, unregulated public participation and emotional mobilisation that threatens to undermine both humanitarian concerns and effective border management.

This photograph, taken on June 3, 2026, five days before the 57th Director General-level Border Coordination Conference began, shows a soldier of India’s Border Security Force (BSF) standing behind the Benapole-Petrapole border fence. File Photo: AFP

Notably, since Bangladesh's July uprising in 2024, social media platforms have become increasingly polarised spaces when it comes to relations between the two countries. Users from both Bangladesh and India routinely engage in misinformation, disinformation and nationalist propaganda. The border dispute has added a new layer of intensity to this digital confrontation, further amplified by domestic political calculations, including electoral considerations in India's border states.

What distinguishes the current situation is not simply the existence of online debate but the unprecedented exposure of sensitive security operations to mass public scrutiny. Borderlands have traditionally been governed as strategic spaces requiring careful management, discretion and institutional discipline. Today, they are becoming theatres for digital performance.

Numerous episodes from recent weeks illustrate this transformation. Videos show personnel from the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and India's Border Security Force (BSF) engaged in heated verbal exchanges while bystanders record and livestream the encounters. Individuals stranded along the border find their most vulnerable moments broadcast to thousands of viewers, becoming objects of attention rather than recipients of assistance. Routine interactions between border guards and local communities are uploaded online, sometimes revealing operational details that would previously have remained private.

The consequences extend beyond mere visibility. Online audiences increasingly interpret every interaction through nationalist lenses. In one widely circulated exchange, a Bangladeshi border guard attempted to communicate in English while his Indian counterpart responded in Hindi. What might otherwise have been a routine conversation became a symbolic battleground online. Some Indian users mocked the Bangladeshi officer's language proficiency, while many Bangladeshi users celebrated his defiance against what they perceived as linguistic hegemony. A practical exchange between security personnel was transformed into a referendum on national pride.

Such incidents reveal how social media reshapes the meaning of border events. Actions are no longer judged solely according to their operational significance. Instead, they become symbols in broader struggles over identity, sovereignty and historical grievance.

More worrying is the normalisation of hostility. Videos depicting confrontations between border guards frequently attract thousands of comments celebrating escalation. Heated exchanges between citizens of both countries routinely descend into ethnic, religious and national abuse. Because much of this discourse occurs in Bangla, moderation systems often fail to detect or address violations of platform policies. Hate speech that would likely be removed in English frequently remains online, accumulating engagement and visibility.

The personalisation of conflict poses additional dangers. In several cases, personal information and family addresses of security personnel allegedly circulated online after they appeared in viral videos. Border guards, already operating in stressful and often dangerous conditions, become targets of harassment, intimidation and threats. Such practices not only jeopardise individual safety but also undermine institutional morale and professionalism.

Social media platforms reward outrage, not nuance. Algorithms amplify content that provokes anger, fear and tribal solidarity. In the context of a border dispute, this creates ideal conditions for ultra-nationalist narratives to flourish. The border becomes a site where users continuously perform patriotism, often through the denigration of those on the other side.

The psychological dimension deserves particular attention. Border management depends upon disciplined decision-making under pressure. Yet frontline personnel now operate under the gaze of millions of online spectators. Every action can be recorded, edited, reframed and disseminated within minutes. The awareness of constant surveillance may encourage performative behaviour, emotional responses or excessive displays of patriotism rather than measured professional judgement.

The risks are not confined to security institutions. Social media is also transforming the behaviour of border communities themselves. Residents living near the frontier increasingly participate in online narratives of victory, humiliation and revenge. Videos of stone-throwing, verbal abuse and symbolic acts of territorial assertion circulate widely. In some cases, seemingly trivial incidents, such as individuals crossing near the fence to collect fruit or vegetables from the opposite side, are celebrated online as patriotic triumphs.

An alleged attempt by India's Border Security Force (BSF) to push a group of individuals into Bangladesh was thwarted by Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel and local residents at the Amjhol border in Lalmonirhat's Hatibandha upazila. Photo: Collected

These developments reveal a deeper fragility within borderland governance. The border is no longer managed exclusively by states. It is increasingly co-produced by digital audiences, influencers, local communities and transnational networks. Authority becomes dispersed. Information becomes uncontrollable. Emotions become politically consequential.

The implications for the future are alarming.

Social media platforms reward outrage, not nuance. Algorithms amplify content that provokes anger, fear and tribal solidarity. In the context of a border dispute, this creates ideal conditions for ultra-nationalist narratives to flourish. The border becomes a site where users continuously perform patriotism, often through the denigration of those on the other side.

This process is particularly dangerous because questions of migration, citizenship and national belonging are becoming intertwined with religion. Individuals caught in border operations are increasingly portrayed not as human beings with complex histories but as demographic threats, infiltrators or civilisational enemies. Humanitarian concerns become secondary to ideological narratives. Once migration debates are filtered through religious identity, compromise becomes difficult and empathy becomes politically costly.

The experience of other countries demonstrates the dangers of such dynamics. Digital platforms can quickly transform prejudice into organised hostility, mainstream discriminatory rhetoric and create conditions in which violence becomes easier to justify. The border dispute should therefore be understood not merely as a diplomatic disagreement but as a warning about the evolving relationship between technology, nationalism and security.

Both Bangladesh and India have legitimate security concerns that deserve to be taken seriously. States have the right to regulate borders and determine citizenship. Yet security cannot be sustained through digital humiliation, public spectacle or the cultivation of collective hatred. Borders are meant to define political jurisdictions, not diminish human dignity.

In India, Bangla-speaking individuals—many of whom are Indian citizens—are increasingly being harassed and pushed across the border into Bangladesh. File Photo: AFP

The people stranded today in rain-soaked borderlands are more than statistics, suspects or symbols. They are human beings caught between competing political projects. Their suffering should not become content for online consumption or fuel for nationalist mobilisation.

The challenge facing Bangladesh and India is therefore larger than resolving the immediate dispute. It is about preserving the integrity of border governance in an age of viral communication. If border management becomes subordinated to social media outrage, both professionalism and humanity will suffer. And if online nationalism continues to transform neighbours into enemies, the consequences will extend far beyond the frontier itself.

The greatest threat facing South Asia may not be those who cross borders, but the digital ecosystems that encourage societies to stop seeing one another as fellow human beings.

Dr Anas Ansar is Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science and Sociology and a member of the Centre for Peace Studies at North South University.​