Agartala, Nov 23 (IANS) Border Security Force (BSF) Director General (DG) Raman Srivastava Monday directed the officials and troopers of the para-military force to further tighten the vigil along India’s border with Bangladesh, officials here said.
“The DG during his meeting with top BSF officials explained the prevailing situation along the India-Bangladesh border and asked the commanders to reinforce the round-the-clock defence along the international boundary,” a BSF spokesman said.

Srivastava during his two-day maiden visit to the northeastern state of Tripura held a series of meetings with top BSF and Tripura government officials besides state Governor Dr Kamla.

The 1973 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, who became the chief of India’s largest para-military force in early August, also visited some air-maintained border out posts (BOPs) in far-flung areas along the India-Bangladesh border in Tripura and interacted with the troopers Monday.

The spokesman told IANS: “Senior BSF officials have apprised the DG about the latest position of the Indo-Bangla border and decision taken at the inspector general level meeting held earlier this month in Sylhet in eastern Bangladesh.”

The visit of the BSF DG is significant in view of the Bangladeshi security forces’ mounting pressure on the Indian terrorists taking shelter and training in that country.

In the Sylhet meeting, the BSF officials had also asked their Bangladeshi counterparts to dismantle around 90 camps and hideouts set up by northeastern Indian militants on their territory.

“Though BDR and Bangladeshi security forces have of late taken some action against the Indian militants taking shelter in their territory, there are about 90 camps or hideouts existing in Chittagong Hill Tracts of southeast Bangladesh and Sylhet besides other regions,” the BSF official added.

The Sylhet meeting was held ahead of the director general-level talks between the border forces of India and Bangladesh.

Following ‘arrest or detention’ of two top insurgents of United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) earlier this month, BSF has intensified its vigil and stepped up patrolling along the border with Bangladesh.

In a significant development, the BSF troopers in the first week of this month have ‘detained or arrested’ ULFA’s self-appointed finance secretary Chitraban Hazarika and self-styled foreign secretary Shashadhar Chowdhury along the Bangladesh border in western Tripura.

Five Indian states - West Bengal, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Assam and Tripura - share a 4,095 km border with Bangladesh. These include a 2,979 km land border and 1,116 km riverine. Among the northeastern states, Tripura shares 856 km, Meghalaya 443 km, Mizoram 318 km and Assam 263 km border with Bangladesh.