PETRAPOLE: Three jailbreaks in three days not far from the Indian border and zero policing on the streets of Bangladesh have put Indian security agencies on alert in Bengal for possible infiltration bids.
While Border Security Force (BSF) is holding village coordination meetings along the border to sensitise villagers on suspicious movements, Bengal police have instructed village-level border vigilante groups to watch out for outsiders who might try to sneak in.
On Tuesday, more than 200 inmates escaped from Kashimpur Central Jail in Gazipur near Dhaka. The central prison, sources said, housed several Jamaat-e-Islami members who were arrested over the past few years. On Wednesday, nearly 30 inmates escaped from a prison in Kushtia after attacking the guards. On Monday evening, the day Sheikh Hasina fled the country, almost 500 prisoners escaped from Sherpur District Jail.
Alarmed over the developments, BSF personnel held back-to-back village coordination meetings at Mamabhagina and Sutiya areas of North 24 Parganas on Wednesday. Company commanders of the 68th and 107th battalions explained to the residents what to expect and how to report any suspicious activity in the border areas.
“Apart from guarding the border, we are raising awareness among the villagers about the current situation in Bangladesh,” BSF spokesperson AK Arya said.
Anarul Tapadar, member of Bagda gram panchayat said, “Many locals have land parcels along the zero point areas where they engage in agricultural activities. Bangladeshi nationals, too, have their land near these areas and the BSF is apprehensive about this. At Naoda village, farmers have been asked to conduct agricultural activities between 6 am and 9 am. BSF has said this will continue till the situation stabilises in Bangladesh.”