Dhaka
\nIndia has arrested nearly a dozen Bangladeshis attempting to cross the border to escape violence and political tumult following deadly protests that led to the ouster of prime minister Sheikh Hasina, border officials said on Monday.
\nHundreds more are waiting along the frontier pleading for permission to cross, India\u2019s Border Security Force (BSF) said.
\nHindus are the largest minority faith in mostly Muslim Bangladesh, and are considered a steadfast support base for Hasina\u2019s party, the Awami League.
\nAfter Hasina\u2019s abrupt resignation and escape to India ended her 15 years of autocratic rule on August 5, there were numerous reports of attacks against Hindu households, temples and businesses.
\nIndia\u2019s BSF said 11 Bangladesh nationals had been arrested since Sunday trying to \u201csneak\u201d across the frontier into West Bengal state.
\n\u201cSeveral hundred Bangladeshi nationals are still waiting in no-man\u2019s land to cross over the border,\u201d BSF deputy inspector general Amit Kumar Tyagi told AFP.
\nBangladesh is almost entirely encircled by India, with the border stretching for more than 4,000 kilometres, large parts of which are unfenced.
\nFour Bangladeshis were also \u201crepelled\u201d from India\u2019s Assam state, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on social media platform X.
\n\u2018Safety and security\u2019
\nNew Delhi has kept a wary eye on the fall of Hasina, who pursued a delicate balancing act of enjoying support from India while maintaining strong relations with China.
\nHindus account for around 8 per cent of Bangladesh\u2019s 170 million people.
\nOver the past week, religious rights groups said they documented more than 200 incidents of attacks on minority communities in Bangladesh, a figure that also includes Christians and Buddhists.
\nThe security situation has since dramatically improved, and on Monday Bangladeshi police resumed patrols of the capital Dhaka, ending a strike that left a law and order vacuum.
\nIndia\u2019s home minister Amit Shah said on Friday a committee had been created to monitor the situation \u201cto ensure the safety and security of Indian nationals, Hindus, and other minority communities living there\u201d.
\nInterim government leader Muhammad Yunus\u2019s \u201ccouncil of advisors\u201d, the de facto cabinet now administering the country, said it had noted with \u201cgrave concern\u201d some attacks on Hindus and other minorities.
\nIn its first official statement on Sunday night, the cabinet said it would work to \u201cfind ways to resolve such heinous attacks\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dhaka India has arrested nearly a dozen Bangladeshis attempting to cross the border to escape violence and political tumult following deadly protests that led to the ouster of prime minister Sheikh Hasina, border officials said on Monday. Hundreds more are waiting along the frontier pleading for permission to cross, India\u2019s Border Security Force (BSF) said. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":424518,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-424500","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n