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Local residents detained an Indian national after he allegedly crossed into Bangladesh through the border fence in Sadar upazila of Panchagarh on Saturday, following the reported detention of a 78-year-old Bangladeshi man by India’s Border Security Force (BSF).
The Indian national, identified as Dipankar Ghosh, 30, was detained by locals after he crossed the barbed-wire fence and entered Bangladesh in the Birajot area of Satmera border around Saturday morning.
He is currently in the custody of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and police.
According to local residents, Dipankar is the son of Mishrilal Ghosh of Chaulhati Tashanpara area under Rajganj police station in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal, India.
Locals said Dipankar had come to work at a tea garden on the other side of the border. At one point, he crossed into the Bangladeshi side, prompting local residents to detain him and take him to the Birajot area.
The incident came three days after the reported detention of Bangladeshi national Md Tamiz Uddin, 78, by the BSF.
According to locals, Tamiz Uddin, a resident of the Birajot area under Satmera Union of Panchagarh Sadar, left home on August 5 morning to search for his cattle. He reportedly went close to the barbed-wire fence along the border, where BSF personnel allegedly detained him.
Locals said Tamiz Uddin is elderly, has impaired hearing and faces difficulty walking. His family said he had inadvertently gone near the border while searching for his cattle.
His son Azahar said his father had done nothing wrong and appealed for his immediate return.
“My father did nothing. He went out to look for his cattle. He is an elderly man, cannot hear properly and has difficulty walking. We want my father back,” he said.
Azahar also said the family would hand over the Indian national if his father was returned.
Meanwhile, a flag meeting was held between the BGB and BSF over the return of Tamiz Uddin and the detention of Dipankar Ghosh.
However, the BGB has not yet issued any official statement on the matter.