'Not an inch': BSF rejects reports of Bangladesh border guards taking control of Indian land

Kolkata: The BSF on Tuesday rejected reports that the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has taken control of a 5-km stretch of land belonging to India along the International Border as “baseless and irresponsible”.

In a statement, the BSF South Bengal Frontier said the reports that appeared in a section of the Bangladeshi press lacked “truth and merit”.

“The area in question is on the Indian side, in Ranghat village of Bagda block, North 24 Parganas district. The International Boundary (IB) runs along the Kodaliya River, which is well-demarcated by reference pillars on both sides. The status of the IB and the duty pattern of the BSF have remained unchanged for decades,” the statement said.

It also refuted claims that BGB personnel had started 24-hour patrolling the area using motorised boats and ATVs since December 19.

“These reports are nothing but concocted stories. The BSF and BGB continue to perform their duties on their respective sides of the river, which serves as the IB,” he said.

The BSF said the area is unfenced and prone to smuggling and infiltration by Bangladeshi nationals.

Strict measures have been taken to curb such activities, bringing infiltration attempts in the region down to negligible levels, it said.

“Not an inch of Indian land has been, or will be, taken over by the counterpart. Both the BSF and BGB are peacefully dominating their respective areas in accordance with the ‘India-Bangladesh Border Guidelines, 1975’, ensuring the integrity of the IB is maintained,” it said.

The reports had attributed the the claims to the newly-appointed commanding officer of the 58 BGB Lt Col Rafique Islam.

“Such false and fabricated claims will only erode the goodwill between the two border-guarding forces,” the BSF said.