By IANS
Akhaurah (India-Bangladesh Border) : Cross-border crimes, the alleged presence of Indian militants in Bangladesh and other outstanding border issues will dominate a five-day meeting between the chiefs of the Border Security Force (BSF) of India and the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), which began Thursday in Dhaka.
“Rising instances of fake Indian currency coming in from Bangladesh and the working of a mechanism to check this would also be discussed during the meeting,” a senior BSF official told IANS here Thursday.
BDR director general Major General Shakil Ahmed is leading the 22-member Bangladesh delegation while BSF director general Ashish Kumar Mitra heads the 17-member Indian delegation in the talks, the second this year between the chiefs of the two border forces. The last such meeting was held in New Delhi in February.
BSF Tripura frontier inspector general J.A. Khan and his Assam-Meghalaya frontier counterpart P.K. Mishra are also part of the Indian team, which reached the Bangladeshi capital Wednesday.
“Installation of border pillars, demarcation of the remaining unidentified areas and intensified vigil against cross-border movement of militants, smuggling of illegal weapons, explosives, contraband and drugs are also likely to feature during the meet,” a BSF official said.
According to Bangladesh newspapers, the BDR delegation will raise the incidents of firings on Bangladeshis as well as their kidnap and arrest by the BSF and Indian civilians. They would seek handing over of Bangladeshi citizens by Indian security forces.
“The meeting would also try to set off a system of frequent interaction at the level of field commanders to sort out local issues,” the official added.
In the past, these interactions have seen BSF hand over lists of militants wanted in India and reportedly hiding in Bangladesh. These include top leaders of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) Paresh Baruah and Anup Chetia and All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) chief Ranjit Debbarma.
The India-Bangladesh home secretary-level talks in July in New Delhi saw a commitment from Dhaka that it would prevent its territory to be used for operations against India.
India shares a 4,095 km long border with Bangladesh, a large portion of which remains unfenced.