No exodus from B'desh to WB; border security strengthened

There has not been any exodus from Bangladesh to West Bengal following violence in the neighbouring country over a top Jamaat-e-Islami leader being sentenced to death for crimes against humanity during the 1971 liberation war.

"We have no such report," Home Secretary Basudeb Banerjee told PTI when asked if there was an exodus from Bangladesh.

"Security arrangements have been strengthened along the border," he said on the measures that the state government has suggested to the Border Security Force. In Malda, the BSF has been asked to intensify patrolling along the border.

Export and import has been suspended and the Force is in touch with the Bangladesh Border Guards for the return of 172 Indian drivers and helpers stranded near Sona Masjid in Chapainawaabganj district of that country since last Thursday, a report said quoting the police.

Export and import operations at Mohdipur land port in the district have totally stopped, it said. Malda Superintendent of Police Prasun Banerjee, who held a meeting with the BSF, had earlier said, "There is a problem (unrest) in the border areas of Bangladesh and we are trying to bring stranded people back with the help of the BSF."