Indo-Bangla border tensions: Bangladesh’s foreign ministry summons Indian envoy Pranay Verma

A BSF jawan at the border

Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Pranay Verma was summoned by Bangladesh’s foreign ministry over border tensions between both the nations

The development came hours after Dhaka alleged that India was trying to construct fences at five locations along the Indo-Bangla border, in violation of a bilateral agreement as reported by news agency PTI. Verma was seen entering the ministry around 3:00 pm. His meeting with foreign secretary Jashim Uddin lasted approximately 45 minutes. While no official statement was released by the interim government regarding the discussions, officials confirmed that the envoy has been summoned.

"Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Ambassador Md Jashim Uddin on Sunday expressed the deep concern of the Government of Bangladesh to the High Commissioner of India Pranay Verma at his office at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs over the recent activities of the Border Security Force (BSF) of India along the Bangladesh-India

Border," Bangladesh Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

He stressed that such activities particularly the "unauthorized attempt" to construct barbed wire fencing and the related operational actions by BSF, "have caused tensions and disturbances along the border."

"He emphasised that the construction of barbed wire fences without proper authorization undermines the spirit of cooperation and friendly relations between the two neighbouring countries. He hoped that the upcoming BGB-BSF DG Level Talks would be able to discuss the matter at length," the statement read.

Earlier, the BSF 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.

Also in an another related development BSF officials said the construction of a barbed wire fence along the India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal's Malda district is progressing peacefully after a brief halt, following objections raised by the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).

The fencing work in the Sukdevpur area of Malda's Kaliachak No. 3 block was temporarily paused after the BGB claimed it was being conducted on Bangladeshi territory. However, the issue was resolved through discussions, and the work has since resumed without further disruptions on Tuesday. "The fencing work is now going on. There are no issues right now," Ravi Gandhi, Additional Director General (ADG) of the BSF's Eastern Command, told PTI.

Officials noted that the misunderstanding arose during the installation of the fence, which is being undertaken by the central government’s Road Works Department in collaboration with the BSF. The BGB initially raised concerns about the location of the fence, halting the work. The matter was resolved during a meeting between BSF and BGB officials on Tuesday morning, with the Indian side clarifying that the fencing was being constructed within their territory.

The BSF has intensified its vigil along the 1,885-km-long India-Bangladesh border in the Northeast since the crisis began in Bangladesh.

The Assam Police is also maintaining a high alert along the India-Bangladesh border to ensure that no person can enter the state illegally, the Director General of Police, G P Singh, had earlier said.