The Border Security Force (BSF) rejected reports that the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has taken control of a 5-km stretch of land belonging to India along the International as "baseless and irresponsible". The BSF South Bengal Frontier, in a statement, said that the reports that appeared in a section of the Bangladeshi press lacked "truth and merit".
"The area in question is on the Indian side, in Ranghat village of the Bagda block, North 24 Parganas district. The International Boundary (IB) runs along the Kodaliya River, which is well-demarcated by reference pillars on both sides. The status of the IB and the duty pattern of the BSF have remained unchanged for decades," the statement said.
It has also refuted the claims that the BGB personnel had started a 24-hour patrol of the area using the motorised boats and ATVs since December 19.
"These reports are nothing but concocted stories. The BSF and BGB continue to perform their duties on their respective sides of the river, which serves as the IB," he said.
BSF also said that the area is unfenced and prone to smuggling and infiltration by the Bangladeshi nationals. It further added that strict measures have been taken to curb such activities, bringing the infiltration attempts in the region down to negligible levels.
"Not an inch of Indian land has been, or will be, taken over by the counterpart. Both the BSF and BGB are peacefully dominating their respective areas in accordance with the 'India-Bangladesh Border Guidelines, 1975,' ensuring the integrity of the IB is maintained," it said.
The reports had attributed the claims to the newly appointed commanding officer of the 58 BGB, Lt Col Rafique Islam.
"Such false and fabricated claims will only erode the goodwill between the two border-guarding forces," the BSF said.
(With input from agencies)