Bangladesh: Mentally-Challenged Man Reportedly Crosses Border via Tripura, BSF & BGB in Standoff

Agartala, May 2, 2020:

Tensions escalated between the Border Security Forces (BSF) and Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) troops in Tripura's Southern Sabroom town over the reported intrusion of a mentally unsound man who WAS spotted in the no man's land between the border of India and Bangladesh on May 2.

It is to be mentioned here that the incident comes close on the heels of a similar incident in which a mentally challenged woman, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, remained stranded in a sandbar of Sabroom before being identified as a Bangladeshi citizen. She was then escorted back to her homeland after thorough checking at the border.

According to Inside Northeast reports, the mentally unsound man purportedly crossed over to India evading the border vigil. When the locals spotted him and chased him back, the BGB guards refused to let him back across the border.

The matter further escalated when the BSF also tried to push him back into Bangladesh. Hundreds of BGB troops were deployed along the border and some of the troops were put in firing positions.

Though, the BSF sources refused regarding any firing, locals said, the BGB fired one blank round. “One round of blank fore has been heard in the Ramgarh police station area”, a local of the area said.

Meanwhile, repeated flag meetings were convened near the Feni river that separates the two nations and at the under construction India-Bangladesh Maitri Bridge last night to resolve the matter and reach an amicable solution.

"A meeting was also slated to take place this morning itself, but it has been called off. BSF IG Tripura sector has left for Sabroom for spot-visit and to review the situation”, Tapan Roy, a local reported, told us.

However, a highly placed source in the BSF's Tripura sector said, “A man, supposedly psychologically unsound, has been spotted near the border, although we are yet to establish that he is from the Bangladeshi side. The locals chased him claiming he had crossed the border. When he was being chased back, the BGB retaliated.

The source further informed that the matter came to the notice of BGB when he was in the Indian territory. The BGB troops took an aggressive move and laid an ambush along the borders. Flag meetings have been convened in sector-commandant level and the person was detained.

Meanwhile, the BSF DIG Jameel Ahmed has said that the suspect has been arrested and handed over to police last night. "The IG of Tripura frontier has also reached Sabroom for spot visit", he told us over phone.

Meanwhile, reacting to the issue, Lalhim Molsom, the SDPO of Sabroom,  said, “The person has been shifted to quarantine at Manu Bankul few kilometres away from Sabroom. The BSF last night handed over the custody of the detained person to Tripura Police."

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