Late Tuesday, Bangladeshi authorities handed over a 65-year-old farmer from Assam’s Cachar district to their Indian counterpart hours after he was kidnapped from the Zero Line, the area where the two countries’ territories meet.
Ranjit Das’s family claimed that they received a phone call from a person in Bangladesh who told them that the kidnapping was carried out in retaliation for the killing of a Bangladeshi near the India-Bangladesh border. A member of Das’ family said: “We do not know how true this is, but after talks between the two countries, he was finally returned.”
A Border Security Force officer said that Das was handed over safe and sound.
Earlier, Parimal Sukhlabidia, who represents Silchar in Parliament, visited the border village of Das and said that Bangladesh had agreed to return the farms after high-level discussions and a medical examination.
Suklapedia said the incident raised concerns about the safety of Indian farmers working in fields near the border. “We have a fence on our side, but many areas on the Bangladeshi side are still not fenced. Many Indians are cultivating lands on the Indian part of the zero line. After this incident, we will have to be more concerned about their safety,” he said. Suklapedia said he would ask the government to strengthen security arrangements.
The Das family said farmers from Kinnarkal village were working in their fields after the Border Security Forces opened the border gate, a routine practice, allowing them to access lands beyond the border fence inside Indian territory near the Surma River. A portion of Indian farmland remains heavily guarded outside the fence, where local farmers have been growing crops for decades.
Eyewitnesses said that Das and other farmers had finished their work and were returning home when he realized that he had left his sickle behind and returned to get it. Moments later, a group of six to seven men allegedly crossed the border from the Bangladeshi side, assaulted him and dragged him across the border.
Kalimohan Das, Das’s brother, said he tried to intervene but was repulsed. “Before we could understand what was happening, they caught him and started dragging him away. They threatened him and took him to Bangladesh. We were helpless,” he said.
The kidnapping sparked panic and anger in Kinnarkal and neighboring villages. Hundreds of residents gathered near the border fence and demanded the return of Ranjit Das.
Senior border guard officials, police officers, local legislators and other officials rushed to the scene. The BSF contacted the Bangladesh Border Guard and requested a flag meeting.
Residents said there was no immediate response from the Bangladeshi side, and Ranjit Das’ whereabouts remained unknown for hours.
Assam Member of Parliament Kamalakhya Dei Purkayastha said he immediately informed Prime Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Chief Secretary, and senior officials of the Border Security Forces about the incident and sought urgent intervention.
