A section of approximately 15 feet of India's barbed-wire fence along the Kurigram Phulbari border has been cut by miscreants.
According to border sources, the incident took place late Friday night.
Following the incident, border patrols were intensified, and two rounds of flag meetings were held between the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and India's Border Security Force (BSF).
However, BGB said that the meetings were routine discussions and not specifically about the fence.
Border sources revealed that during Thursday night, unidentified miscreants cut the Indian barbed-wire fence near the Basakotal border adjacent to the Kurushapurusha border in Bangladesh.
In response, BSF personnel from the Basakotal camp heightened border surveillance on Friday and set up a tent near International Main Pillar 936.
Upon receiving the news, BGB personnel from Balarhat and Shimulbari camps, under the Lalmonirhat BGB 15 Battalion, also increased patrols along the border.
Additionally, a company commander-level flag meeting between BGB and BSF took place on Friday afternoon, followed by another battalion commander-level meeting on Saturday.
According to BGB, the second meeting was held on the Indian side near International Main Pillar 936 in the Kurushapurusha border area of Phulbari upazila on Saturday afternoon.
Following the meeting, Lieutenant Colonel Shakil Alam, commander of the BGB 15 Battalion, and Raj Kumar, commander of the BSF-3 Battalion, inspected the site where the fence was cut, as confirmed by border sources.
However, BGB maintains that the meetings were not solely about the barbed-wire fence but were part of routine discussions between the two border security forces.
The meetings primarily focused on maintaining peace, order, and harmony along the border, they added.
Lieutenant Colonel Shakil Alam said: "The BSF battalion commander is newly appointed, and this was a courtesy meeting. The discussion was not limited to the fence but covered routine matters."
When asked about the fence-cutting issue, the BGB commander said: "It is not our concern who cut their fence. Various issues were discussed in the meeting, but all were part of routine discussions."
