Press Trust of India
Kolkata/Agartala, July 3: A high alert has been sounded on the Indo-Bangla border in the five states of West Bengal, Tripura, Meghalaya, Assam and Mizoram in the wake of the terror attack in Dhaka with the Border Security Force(BSF) stepping up its vigil. India and Bangladesh share a 4,096 km-long international border, the fifth-longest land border in the world, with West Bengal having the highest length with 2,217 km. The length of the border in the other four states is Tripura(856km), Meghalaya(443km), Assam(262km) and Mizoram(180km).
The West Bengal administration has asked the state police to be on high alert and take serious note of any suspicious movement in the border districts. “All police stations along the Indo-Bangla border have been alerted and all border districts have been told to keep a close eye on any suspicious movement,” a senior police official of the West Bengal Police said. Vehicles are being checked at various entry and exit points in the districts bordering Bangladesh, which has declared a two-day state mourning after the attack on a café in Dhaka’s diplomatic zone on Friday night resulting in the killing of 20 persons, all foreigners, who were taken hostage.
As it was a festival season with Eid and Ratha yatra to be celebrated, a strict vigil was being maintained on the border. But after the attack in Bangladesh, the BSF had further intensified the vigil and special operations were on, IG BSF Sandeep Salunke had told PTI yesterday. Salunke also said that the BSF was in touch with Border Guard Bangladesh and keeping a close eye on the situation. A top police official in Agartala said that as soon as the attack broke out BSF and all other security forces including Tripura police, were alerted so that no unwanted elements could cross the border to enter Indian territory.
BSF Inspector General (Meghalaya Frontier) P K Dubey said the force has been put on “very high alert” along the Indo-Bangladesh border in Meghalaya. “The force has been put on very high alert along the Indo-Bangladesh border following the armed attack in Dhaka. Security has been tightened,” Dubey said. Dubey said he had spoken to officials of Meghalaya Police for coordination and sharing of information as soon as news of the killings came in.