Staff Reporter:
The Indian Border Security Force (BSF) picked up two Bangladeshi farmers from a border area near Biral upazila, Dinajpur on Friday noon, prompting local Bangladeshis to retaliate by detaining two Indian nationals.
The Indians were handed over to the local BGB camp.
As of filing this report at 2:15pm, a flag meeting between Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and the BSF was underway to resolve the matter. The incident took place around 12pm.
Some locals said that farmers Masud Rana, 22, and Enamul Haque, 45, harvested paddy near the border pillar 320/9S at Mallikpur Karuliapara under BGB’s Dharmajoin border outpost in Dharmapur union, Biral upazila.
Afterwards, Masud and Enamul crossed the border to thrash the harvested paddy in the field of an Indian citizen. The field was located near the same pillar. At one point, BSF personnel detained the two Bangladesh farmers, local villagers said.
Another group of locals alleged that the BSF personnel crossed into Bangladeshi territory and detained the two famers while they were harvesting paddy.
After hearing the news of the detention, locals retaliated by detaining two Indian tribal farmers Abinash Tudu, 20, and Philip Soren, 30.
Both are residents of Anantapur village under Gangarampur police station area of Dakshin Dinajpur district in West Bengal.
Rezaul Karim, BGB commander of Dharamjoyn outpost under 42 Battalion, said they were in talks with the BSF through a flag meeting to arrange the return of the two detained Bangladeshis and hand over the two Indian nationals.
Locals informed that this is not the first such incident in the area. In the past, similar exchanges have occurred where Bangladeshi farmers were detained by BSF, prompting locals to detain Indian nationals.
