27 held from Jhenaidah border while entering Bangladesh illegally

Members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) arrested 27 people, including women and children, who were entering the country illegally through Matila and Samanta borders in Maheshpur upazila of Jhenaidah early today.

All the arrestees claimed that they are Bangladeshi citizens.

Acting on a tip-off, a team of BGB Khalishpur-58 Battalion, conducted a drive in Matila area and arrested 19 people, said director of the battalion Lt Col Quamrul Ahsan.

The border guards also arrested eight people from Samanta area of the border at the same time.

BGB is on high alert over the spread of Covid-19 as neighbouring India has been experiencing devastating surge of cases for the last four weeks.

The government has decided to extend the closure of border with India for another 14 days, keeping movement of cargoes carrying goods uninterrupted, as the Covid-19 situation keeps worsening in India.

Earlier, the government closed the border with India for 14 days with effect from April 26 but cargoes carrying goods were allowed to operate as usual.