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Krittivas Mukherjee in Calcutta
Bangladesh has said it will take back Hindus fleeing to India if New Delhi proves that an exodus is indeed taking place.
Bangladesh also accused the Indian media of 'playing up' the issue of the reported Hindu exodus since a new government took office in Dhaka last month.
"This (the influx of Bangladeshi Hindus to India) is being played up by some newspapers. Bangladesh will take the refugees back if the Indian government provides a list," Bangladesh Deputy High Commissioner Mohammed Touhid Hossain said.
Hossain said though reports were appearing in a section of the press about migration of Bangladeshi Hindus, 'we have not yet received any version from either New Delhi or the West Bengal government'.
He said there might be 'isolated incidents of illegal migration', but 'the number of those illegal migrants is very few'.
Hossain said if the Indian authorities gave a list of illegal migrants, 'we will follow the set procedure for repatriation'.
There have been reports that a large number of Bangladeshi Hindus are crossing into West Bengal state to escape alleged religious persecution at the hands of Islamic radicals, who have apparently become aggressive after Bangladesh Nationalist Party led coalition came to power in October.
Some of the fleeing Hindus reportedly said they were victimised for voting for the Awami League, which lost power in the October elections.
Though Bangladesh claims the Indian media is 'blowing things out of proportion', a large number of Hindus from the Muslim-dominated country are reported to have taken shelter in West Bengal's border districts of South Dinajpur, Malda and North 24 Parganas since October 15.
Many of the refugees are reportedly putting up with their relatives or have taken shelter in shanties.
But Hossain said the attacks were 'criminal activities' and a 'law and order issue'.
"In every developing country some anti-socials cross political sides after elections. These are anti-socials trying to grab property. The situation is not as it is being made out to be. It is a law and order problem," Hossain asserted.
"The Bangladesh government is taking steps to control this and the results are already showing," he said, adding there was no communal problem in Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh has formed a committee to investigate reported attacks on its minorities and ordered the tightening of its borders to stop the alleged exodus of Hindus to India.
Bangladesh formed the body late on Thursday and asked its members to submit a report on the situation to the cabinet in a week.
The committee, headed by Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's Principal Secretary Kamaluddin Siddiqi, will investigate the alleged incidents of violence against Hindus and their reported migration to India.
Related Report: India restarts fencing border with Bangladesh
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