Trade between India and Bangladesh via land ports came to a standstill on Sunday as there was no movement of cargo trucks to and fro due to the ongoing student protests in the neighbouring country, officials said. The Bangladeshi side of the Petrapole landport remained non-functional, they said. Nearly one-third of land-based trade between India and Bangladesh takes place through Petrapole.
The incident took place between 9:30 and 9:45 am when constable Sateppa SK allegedly used his service rifle and sprayed bullets on five of his colleagues, an officer said.
The Union Budget 2024-25 on Tuesday allocated Rs 2,19,643 crore to the Ministry of Home Affairs with the majority of it -- Rs 1,43,275 crore -- being given to central police forces like Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) which are responsible for internal security, border guarding, and security of vital installations.
The force personnel noticed suspicious activity near the border fence on Thursday evening.
Religare Enterprises, a financial services firm, has disclosed that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) turned down its application to appoint Rakesh Asthana as its whole-time director in May this year without citing any reasons. Asthana is a former top official of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). In a notice to the stock exchanges, Religare said that while the company and Asthana were weighing the options of dealing with the letter of refusal by the RBI, it was also busy in preparing for the "herculean task" of making ready multiple applications to regulators.
The agency also carried out searches at 15 locations spread across Delhi; West Bengal's Kolkata, Siliguri and Murshidabad; Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad, Punjab's Amritsar and Chhattisgarh's Raipur, they said.
The event was given a miss as the relations between the two countries are strained at present.
During search operation, the BSF troops recovered the arms and ammunition from a bag which was found lying on a field near the border around 7 am, a BSF official said.
Suspected Bangladeshi nationals attacked a border outpost in Meghalaya, assaulted 2 BSF jawans and snatched their weapons on Wednesday night. Another group from the neighbouring country barged into the house of a Meghalaya resident and looted money.
When asked to stop, the intruders fired on BSF troops who retaliated in self-defence. Subsequently, five intruders were shot dead, a BSF officer said.
India was drenched in hues of the rainbow on Monday as people celebrated Holi, the festival colours, on Monday and smeared 'gulal' on each other.
As part of the heightened security arrangements in view of Modi's visit, the officials said, the BSF and the police conducted a joint two-hour-long anti-tunnelling operation in the Ramgarh sector of Samba district.
The BSF officer also said human rights organisations should take note of the killings of civilians and the damage caused to civilian properties in the intense shelling by Pakistan.
Asthana is the 27th chief of the force and is expected to hold office till July next year, his scheduled date for retirement from service.
The officials said the suspected drone returned to the Pakistani side when the border guards fired half a dozen rounds to bring it down.
Motorcycle-borne terrorists fired upon the BSF jawans at a picket in Pandach area, 17 km from Srinagar in the outskirts of the city, the officials said. The area has been cordoned off and a hunt has been launched to nab the attackers, the officials added.
Another Pakistani intruder was similarly killed in November 2020, while an underground tunnel was also detected in this region very recently, an officer said.
"Border Security Force detects a tunnel along the international border in Hiranagar sector of Kathua. "More details awaited," officials said.
The statement assured that "security forces are on high alert to protect the lives and property of citizens. All communities are assured of their safety," and advised the public to "not believe in any rumors or unverified news."
The BSF is also conducting joint patrolling with the army, the Central Reserve Police Force and police to thwart nefarious attempts of terrorists, Boora said.
A man from Tripura's Sepahijala district returned home after spending 37 years in Bangladesh jails.
Once identified, these individuals are drawn into private groups where they are exposed to manipulative content, including fabricated videos depicting atrocities allegedly committed by security forces, the officials said.
Small Chinese-made drones, carrying narcotics in 95 per cent cases, are flying over from across the border into Punjab and Jammu regions and these flights are a "cause of concern" for which technology solutions are being scouted actively, BSF director general (DG) Pankaj Kumar Singh said on Tuesday.
The situation remained calm but tense in Manipur's Imphal Valley, where an indefinite curfew has been imposed and internet services suspended following violent protests after the discovery of the bodies of six persons, three women and children each, allegedly abducted and killed by militants in Jiribam.
A spokesperson of the paramilitary force said troops fired after they heard a "buzzing sound of a suspected flying object coming from the Pakistani side to the Indian side" around 1 am in the Panjgrain area of Gurdaspur sector.
As news of Hasina's departure spread, hundreds broke into Hasina's residence, vandalising and looting the interiors, providing dramatic expression to the anti-government protests that have killed more than 100 people in the last two days. At the centre of people anger is the Hasina government's controversial quota system reserving 30 per cent jobs for families of veterans who fought the 1971 liberation war. With volatile crowds taking to the streets -- some clambering on Hasina's father and Bangladesh founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's statue and smashing it with hammers in a lasting image underscoring the fickleness of history -- Army chief General Waqar-uz-Zaman announced that the 76-year-old prime minister has resigned.
The BGB Director General has assured a through probe of the incident, they said.
'Ultimately, you are treated according to the stars on your shoulder.' 'Not as a man, not as a woman, not as a girl,' says Assistant Commandant Tanu Shree Pareek.
The Border Security Force also defended its party leader or post commander of the local area wearing shorts during the flag meeting, saying it is a requirement of that special geographical area.
The court observed that illegal immigration will be on the rise in view of the present unstable situation in Bangladesh.
Asthana is at present working as the Director General of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security in New Delhi.
The force later examined the tunnel and found plastic sandbags on its mouth that had "Pakistani markings" on them.
A retired judge of Bangladesh's Supreme Court was detained from the northeastern frontier with India in Sylhet while he was allegedly attempting to flee the country, the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) said late on Friday.
The skirmish took place around noon in a dense forest near Mahla village in Kanker district
The Punjab Police and the BSF have recovered a huge cache of weapons near the India-Pakistan border in the Khemkaran area of Tarn Taran district, an official said on Wednesday.
Under the norms, petitions for resignation or retirement are not accepted if the person is facing an inquiry.
Police personnel checked vehicles and conducted flag marches at various places in Punjab on Wednesday while central forces maintained a tight vigil in Tripura.
More than 4.5 lakh pilgrims paid their obeisance at the natural ice Shiva Lingam formation inside the cave shrine last year.
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Tuesday condemned the drone bomb attacks on civilians as acts of terrorism and vowed a firm response.
BSF troops guarding over 180 km of IB with Pakistan have strengthened their observation posts and 'listening posts' to keep a close watch against any intrusion by drones.
