Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that only one person entered India from the unrest-hit neighbouring nation of Bangladesh through the international border in Assam with proper documents while stressing that strict vigilance has been maintained along the frontier areas since things went disorderly in the neighbouring country.
“One person named Tufail Hussain came to India through the international border in the Karimganj district on Tuesday. He is the only person who has entered our territory in the last few days and the man has proper reasons with valid documents,” Sarma told the mediapersons.
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He said that Hussain came to India for his treatment at Rabindranath Tagore hospital in Kolkata.
The Chief Minister also emphasised that the international border with Bangladesh has been well guarded and security has been beefed up along the boundary.
Bangladesh has a 262-km border with Assam and a total of 4,096 km with India.
Karimganj district of Assam shares a 103-km boundary with the neighbouring country and the district also has 4 km riverine boundary.
Assam has a lone Integrated Check Post with Bangladesh at Karimganj district’s Sutarkandi area. However, people’s movement between two countries along with trade business was halted for the last one week due to unrest in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh has been witnessing unrest since the students’ protest over a quota-related issue. On August 5, Sheikh Hasina was forced to resign from her prime ministerial position amid violent protests in Dhaka, and fled to India.
There have also been reports of attacks on the Hindu community in Bangladesh. Protest rallies were taken out in the Bangladeshi capital city of Dhaka and port city of Chittagong by the minorities led by the Hindus, demanding a secure environment.
Chief Advisor to the interim Bangladeshi government, Muhammad Yunus, has condemned the attacks on Hindus.
The Hindu community in Bangladesh which make up around 8 per cent of the country’s population of 170 million have been traditional supporters of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League party
