The Border Security Force (BSF) has pushed back the Bangladeshis, 61 of whom were nabbed in Bangalore and brought back to Kolkata this weekend.
Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) camp commander Mozzammel Hossain told mediapersons that the Bangladeshis have been pushed back through the Daulatpur border in Jessore at the dead of night on Saturday.
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The BGB officer said his troops have apprehended 32 of those pushed back–17 men, 13 women and 2 children.
He said the BSF usually informs the BGB of the identity of the illegal migrant and once that is verified, they are handed over to them.
“But this time, they have just been pushed back into the no man’s land without intimation,” Hossain said.
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He said those apprehended have claimed they were working for long years as labourers and housemaids in Bangalore, when they were nabbed by local police during a drive against illegal migrants in late October.
They were brought to Kolkata on Saturday by train and handed over to BSF who pushed them into Bangladesh.
It was not clear whether all the 61 brought to Kolkata have been pushed back and some have got through undetected — or whether the entire lot pushed back have been caught by BGB and there were 29 more left in BSF custody to be pushed back.
BSF officers were unwilling to respond to media queries.
Analysts say these forced pushbacks may cause fresh tensions on the India-Bangladesh border between border guards of the two nations at a time when they were at their best.