Tension briefly flared along the Bangladesh-India border in Meherpur on Tuesday after the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) detained a Bangladeshi farmer, prompting local villagers to detain two Indian nationals.
The incident took place at the Ichakhali border in Meherpur Sadar upazila.
The Bangladeshi farmer was identified as Abdul Mannan, 65, son of late Nur Box of Ichakhali Masjidpara.
According to local residents, Mannan went to his chilli field near border pillar No 124/4-S at around 8:30am to spray pesticides when BSF members detained him.
News of his detention quickly spread through the border area. Later, local residents detained two Indian nationals near border pillar No 123/3-S and subsequently them over to the Ichakhali BGB camp.
The two Indians are residents of Lalbazar village in Nadia district of West Bengal, according to local sources.
The incident briefly created temporary tension along the border. A battalion commander-level flag meeting between the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and BSF was then held at 2pm at the zero line to resolve the situation.
Lieutenant Colonel Nazmul Hasan, commander of Chuadanga Battalion (6 BGB), said the meeting was arranged promptly to resolve the situation.
“Following fruitful discussions in a cordial atmosphere, both sides handed over the detainees to their respective forces,” he said.
Mannan was handed over to the BGB, while the two Indian nationals were returned to the BSF.
The meeting was led by Naik Subedar Abu Hanif, commander of the Ichakhali BGB camp, and Rajib Kumar, company commander of the Nabachandrapur BSF camp.
Lt Col Nazmul Hasan said the border situation has now returned to normal.
