Two Bengal farmers return home from BGB custody

Tehatta (WB), Aug 12 (PTI) Two farmers from West Bengal’s Nadia district, who were allegedly forcibly taken across the international border by Bangladeshi nationals and handed over to the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), returned home following a flag meeting between the BSF and BGB, a district official said Wednesday.

The two men, Sachin Das and Narattam Biswas, residents of the Tehatta area, were allegedly taken while working in agricultural land on the Indian side of the border and subsequently handed over to the BGB, the official said.

According to the farmers, the incident was linked to the detention of a Bangladeshi national by the Border Security Force (BSF) after he entered Indian territory illegally.

The Bangladeshi nationals allegedly took

the two farmers across the border to put pressure on Indian authorities for the release of the detained person, the official said.

The matter was subsequently resolved following a flag meeting between the BSF and BGB, after which the Bangladeshi national was handed over to the BGB and the two Indian farmers were simultaneously handed back to the BSF.

The two farmers returned to their homes in Nadia on Tuesday afternoon.

Recounting his experience, Das said he and Biswas were not physically tortured while they were in BGB custody.

“While around one thousand Indians had gathered at the Tehatta border, around 300 Bangladeshi nationals also came to see us when we were in the custody of the BGB,” he said.

“They provided us food, tea, biscuits and bidis. We were not tortured,” Das said.

Biswas said the two were taken forcibly from the Indian side of the border.

“I was working as an agricultural labourer. I do not own any land. We were taken forcibly from the Indian side of the border and handed over to the BGB,” he said.

According to the farmers, Das owns agricultural land close to the international boundary, while Biswas works there as an agricultural labourer.

Their return brought relief to their families, who had been waiting anxiously for them.

The situation was brought under control after intervention by the border forces of the two countries and the simultaneous handover of the detained Bangladeshi national and the two Indian farmers. PTI COR SUS RG