Bangladesh says it foiled 10 “push-in” attempts by India in 24 hours

Bangladesh on Thursday said it had thwarted 10 attempts by Indian personnel to push people across the border into Bangladeshi territory within the past 24 hours, Prothom Alo reported. New Delhi has not yet responded to the allegations.

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) said it has stepped up intelligence, surveillance and patrolling along frontier areas to prevent further “push-ins.” “No individual or group will be allowed to enter Bangladesh illegally,” Reuters quoted the BGB as saying, adding that any attempt to violate international border-management norms and bilateral understandings would be “strictly resisted.”

The claims follow a series of incidents since the April 2025 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, when police in several BJP-ruled states began detaining Bengali-speaking people — mostly Muslims — and asking them to prove Indian citizenship. Some who could not immediately establish their nationality were reportedly taken into Bangladesh; in other cases, people sent across the border later returned after Indian authorities verified their citizenship.

Scroll and other outlets have documented several such “pushback” cases and criticised authorities for not following the Union home ministry’s procedures for deportation. Dhaka has repeatedly said that anyone found to be Bangladeshi should be repatriated through formal legal and diplomatic channels.

On May 7, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said it had asked Bangladesh to verify the nationality of 2,862 suspected Bangladeshi nationals in India, and urged Dhaka to expedite the process to enable smooth repatriations. The BGB also alleged that, in one recent incident, India’s Border Security Force tried to move about 30–35 people toward Bangladesh in a prison van after opening a border gate in Jhenaidah district; the BGB said it forced the vehicle to retreat. Similar alleged attempts were reported in Jashore, Joypurhat and Panchagarh districts, the report added.