After a day-long standoff and push-in, push-back drama at the Dakshin Anantapur-Nazirhat border in Phulbari upazila of Kurigram, a Bangladeshi child was returned to her family on Saturday night.
Members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and local public representatives formally handed her over after completing necessary legal procedures.
The handover took place following a flag meeting between BGB and India’s Border Security Force (BSF) near Sub-Pillar 3-S of International Main Pillar 943 around 10:45 pm Saturday.
Joynab, daughter of Jamal Uddin and Nazma Begum of Madhya Kashipur Ghagoarpar village, is a student of class five at Madhya Kashipur Government Primary School.
Locals said that BSF personnel attempted to push the child into Bangladesh around 1:00 pm on Saturday, but BGB initially objected as her identity was not confirmed. This led to hours of tension between the two border forces, with BSF later taking the child back inside Indian territory.
Meanwhile, Joynab’s mother, who had been searching for her missing daughter since noon, learned that a girl was being held by BSF. After verifying details, she confirmed that the child was her daughter and informed BGB, which then began communication with BSF to establish her identity. Family members said Joynab left home on Saturday morning after becoming upset with her parents and inadvertently crossed into Seuti in West Bengal’s Cooch Behar district, where she was detained by the BSF.
“A brief flag meeting lasting about 15 minutes was held between BGB and BSF under the leadership of Subedar Ibrahim, commander of Kashipur BOP Camp under Lalmonirhat 15 BGB Battalion. After the meeting, BSF formally handed over Joynab to BGB at around 10:45 pm. Later, after completing the necessary verification and legal procedures, BGB returned Joynab to us,” said the child’s father.
Kashipur Union Parishad Chairman Moniruzzaman Manik, who was present at the meeting, confirmed the safe return of the child, saying the family finally found relief after hours of anxiety.
Subedar Md Ibrahim also confirmed the incident, noting that the child had mistakenly crossed the border and entered India.
Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/bangladeshi-child-reunited-family-kurigram-after-accidental-border-crossing-4198726
