The South Bengal Frontier of the Border Security Force (BSF) has handed over eight Bangladeshi nationals to Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) as a “goodwill gesture as well as symbolising existing cordial relations between the two countries and border guarding forces,” a statement said on Monday.
Of the eight, six were detained from Indian waters in Murshidabad district. Two engine-fitted boats, two fishing nets and some Ilish fish were seized from the fishermen on Sunday. All the six were residents of Rajshahi district. According to the BSF, since there is a ban on Hilsa fishing, the fishermen had entered Indian waters.
The other two, a farmer and a 19-year-old youth, were arrested last week for entering India at two different locations in the south Bengal frontier, the BSF statement said.
“Such steps also build confidence in the border population and improve the overall security scenario in the area,” the statement added. The South Bengal Frontier that stretches nearly 940 km from Sunderbans in south to Malda district in north is the most porous part of the India-Bangladesh border that spans about 4,096 km.
