BSF Withdraws Twelve From Border Strip

Twelve individuals who had remained stranded in the no-man’s-land along the Daulatpur border in Kushtia for four consecutive days have been taken back by India’s Border Security Force (BSF) following discussions with the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).

The development came on Monday morning after a flag meeting between border officials from both countries. According to Lieutenant Colonel Rashed Kamal Rony, Commanding Officer of the 47 BGB Battalion, the meeting took place near border pillar 150/3S. Following a brief exchange of views, the BSF agreed to receive the group and subsequently escorted them back across the border.

The meeting was led on the Bangladeshi side by Nurul Huda, Assistant Director of the 47 BGB Battalion, while the Indian delegation was headed by AP Sunil Kumar Yadav of the Raninagar BSF Camp.

The incident had drawn attention after the group of 12 people—comprising four women, four men and four children—were reportedly pushed towards Bangladeshi territory through the Chakbilgathua border area of Daulatpur upazila early on Friday morning. Local residents noticed the movement and immediately informed the BGB.

Acting in coordination with local people, BGB personnel prevented the group from entering Bangladesh and pushed them back towards the border line. As neither side initially accepted responsibility for them, the individuals remained in the zero line area, effectively stranded between the two countries. Their situation highlighted the humanitarian challenges that can arise in disputed border-related incidents.

Timeline of Events

The issue had remained unresolved despite an earlier flag meeting on Saturday, during which the BSF reportedly refused to accept the group. The prolonged standoff left the twelve people living under difficult conditions in the border strip for four days.

Border management experts note that such incidents require close coordination between neighbouring countries to prevent humanitarian concerns from escalating. Flag meetings between border forces are a common mechanism used by Bangladesh and India to address localised disputes, unauthorised crossings and allegations of pushbacks along the frontier.

With Monday’s agreement, the immediate impasse has been resolved, and the group is no longer stranded in the no-man’s-land area. However, the circumstances surrounding their presence at the border and their nationality remain matters that may require further administrative verification by the relevant authorities.