Dhaka: In a troubling development along the Bangladesh-India border, the Bangladesh Coast Guard reported that Indian police in Gujarat allegedly tortured Bangladeshi-origin Muslims, demolished their homes, and forcefully pushed them into Bangladeshi territory via the Sundarbans, reported the Daily Star.
According to a statement by Coast Guard spokesperson Lt Commander HMM Harun-Or-Rashid, 75 Bangladeshi Muslims and three Indian Muslims were rescued from Mandarbaria Char, a remote area of the Sundarbans near Shyamnagar in Satkhira, on May 10. These individuals had reportedly lived in Gujarat for years and were engaged in various occupations.
Preliminary accounts from the victims revealed that on April 26, Indian police raided their slum settlements at night, blindfolded them, and transported them via military aircraft to unknown destinations. Their families were allegedly taken separately. On May 9, they were reportedly loaded onto a ship, subjected to physical abuse and religious slurs during the journey, and later abandoned in the remote Sundarbans area.
The victims managed to reach the Mandarbaria Forest Office and appealed for help. The Coast Guard’s West Zone unit responded swiftly, rescuing the group and providing them with food and medical assistance.
The rescued individuals have now been handed over to the Shyamnagar Police Station in Satkhira for further legal processing.
According to Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), this is not an isolated incident. Between May 7 and May 9, India allegedly pushed in 202 more people—including Rohingyas—through remote entry points in Khagrachhari (Panchari, Jamini Para, Khedachhara), Moulvibazar, and Kurigram’s Raumari Char.
The victims’ accounts detail horrifying experiences of torture, religious persecution, destruction of homes, and enforced disappearances of their family members, particularly wives and children, whose whereabouts remain unknown.
The Bangladesh Foreign Ministry has reportedly urged India to stop such push-in operations, calling for immediate diplomatic engagement to address the escalating humanitarian and border crisis.
