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A border standoff along the Indo-Bangladesh frontier in Meghalaya’s South West Garo Hills district ended on Thursday after Bangladeshi authorities accepted the return of a 55-year-old Hindu man from Rajshahi district, more than 24 hours after he was allegedly pushed towards Indian territory and left stranded in no-man’s land.
The development came after the Border Security Force (BSF) prevented the man’s entry into India and maintained its position along the international boundary, triggering a prolonged impasse between the two sides.
The episode, which unfolded in the Nandirchar sector near Mahendraganj, drew attention amid continuing concerns over the treatment of religious minorities in Bangladesh and renewed debate over cross-border pushback attempts, illegal migration, and border management along the sensitive frontier.
Personnel of the Border Security Force (BSF) and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) were engaged in a face-off over the identity and nationality of the individual. Videos of the confrontation have since gone viral on social media.
The issue was resolved on Thursday morning after relatives of the Bangladeshi national produced documents and formally claimed him, bringing the standoff to an end.
The individual was identified as Sati Rajbanshi, son of Late Baghbatta, a resident of Chalna village under Narayanpur Post Office and Gudagari Police Station in Rajshahi district of Bangladesh.
BSF sources said, “With this the standoff was called off and the situation is normal.”
Refuting reports circulated by sections of the media and narratives attributed to Bangladeshi authorities, BSF sources maintained that the man never entered Indian territory and remained in the zero line area throughout the night.
“The narrative claimed by Bangladesh that the man was disabled was totally false,” BSF sources said.
Providing details of the case, the sources stated, “His name as per the documents is Sati Rajbanshi, he is a Bangladeshi Hindu, he has been taken by BGB, we haven’t allowed him in our soil. He was on no man’s land. He never enter Meghalaya as claimed by certain Media.”
According to the BSF, personnel remained on high alert after noticing the alleged pushback attempt and prevented the man from crossing into Indian territory.
“He was caught by BGB and Bangladesh officials who tried to push him into Indian territory. He was caught from his village,” BSF sources said.
The sources further alleged that the incident reflected a broader pattern of attempts to push Bangladeshi nationals across the border while simultaneously seeking to shift responsibility onto Indian authorities.
“Bangladesh is trying to defame India, we haven’t pushed this man, but rather, Bangladesh they themselves caught that man within their territory and tries to push him Inside Meghalaya border. This Hindu man is getting targeted,” BSF sources alleged.
The incident unfolded against the backdrop of Assam’s ongoing drive against undocumented Bangladeshi migrants and heightened vigilance along the international border.
While Indian security agencies maintained that the man was prevented from entering the country and was eventually accepted back by Bangladesh, the episode has also raised fresh questions about the circumstances that led to his displacement and whether he was deliberately targeted because of his minority status.
Bangladeshi authorities, including the BGB, had not publicly responded to the allegations at the time the matter was resolved. The claims made by BSF sources regarding the treatment of the individual and the circumstances of the alleged pushback could not be independently verified.
However, with Bangladesh ultimately accepting custody of the man following the submission of supporting documents by his relatives, the border impasse came to a close after more than a day of uncertainty along the Meghalaya frontier.
