Mass Exodus: Hundreds of Bangladeshi Hindus Attempt to Cross into India

NEW DELHI: Hundreds of Hindus in Bangladesh gathered near the Indian border hoping to cross, security officials said on Thursday. This happened after a student uprising removed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Some Hindu-owned businesses and homes were attacked after her ousting, as some people in Muslim-majority Bangladesh saw them as her supporters.

Amit Kumar Tyagi, the deputy inspector general of India's Border Security Force (BSF), told AFP that several hundred Bangladeshi nationals, mostly Hindus, had gathered at various points along India's border with Bangladesh.

Over 200 people were "standing close" to India's border in West Bengal state. In Jalpaiguri district, more than 600 Bangladeshis gathered in no-man’s land, Tyagi added.

"Since there is no fence here, BSF personnel formed a human shield to keep them away," he said.

Officers fired a blank shot into the air to disperse the crowds, he added. Hasina, 76, who had been in power since 2009, resigned on Monday after over a month of deadly protests.

The security situation in Bangladesh has greatly improved, but there have been reports of revenge attacks on her supporters and party officials.

The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council reported that at least 10 Hindu temples were attacked by "miscreants" on Monday.

A hospital official, speaking anonymously, told AFP that a man from the community was beaten to death in southern Bagerhat district.

In India, where Hasina is now taking shelter, Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said Tuesday that his government is "monitoring the situation" regarding minorities.

Making a suo-moto statement in the Rajya Sabha on the ongoing situation in Bangladesh, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar on Tuesday expressed India's deep concern over the attacks on minorities, their businesses, and temples at "multiple locations" in the neighbouring country.

Jaishankar's remarks came a day after Sheikh Hasina resigned as the Prime Minister and reached India following massive violence in Dhaka and several other parts of Bangladesh.

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