'Won’t allow anyone except Bangladeshi'

Amid the trespassing of several hundred people from India in recent weeks, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan today firmly said that no one except Bangladeshi citizens will be allowed to enter the country from the neighboring state.

“We’ll consider if it's confirmed that they're Bangladesh citizens,” Kamal came up with the government’s firm decision while replying to a question from journalists at his office at the Secretariat in Dhaka this noon, reports UNB.

The minister said there is no reason to be panicked over the news that people are being pushed into Bangladesh from India.

“We aren't sure whether those trying to come are Bangladeshis. Although they’re trying to enter, members of Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) didn’t let them enter,” Kamal said.

On November 24, Members of Border Guard Bangladesh arrested 32 people on charge of trespassing into Bangladesh from India.

The arrestees include 17 men, 13 women and two children who illegally entered Bangladesh through Daulatpur bordering area in Jashore’s Benapole.

“Police in India first raided our house, detained us and then handed us over to BSF [Border Security Force] members. Then, BSF pushed us inside Bangladesh through the border at midnight,” according to Alamgir Khan who is among the arrestees.

Those who have entered Bangladesh in the recent weeks have reportedly said that they have left India because of the fear of the National Registry of Citizens (NRC) and various other pressures.

“We won’t allow anyone to enter Bangladesh without being sure. It’s up to us how we receive them if they’re confirmed as Bangladesh's citizens,” he said hinting the incident.

The minister explained that they (India) had tried to push 20-50 people at a time into Bangladesh earlier.

He also said that the intruders are only a few hundred in number.

Amid the intrusion, Foreign Minister AKM Abdul Momen in his recent statement said that he has seen the news of “push in” from India in the media but wasn’t informed officially.

The final list of the NRC in Assam that was made public on August 31, excluded names of about 19.07 lakh applicants. Indian media reported that most of them were Bangla-speaking people.

After publishing of the final list, there was an apprehension that the people who left out of list are afraid that they might become the target of persecution.