Bangladeshi Hindus cross into West Bengal
Reuters
Posted online: Friday, November 02, 2001 at 1723 hours IST
Kolkata, November 2: Five Bangladeshi Hindu families have crossed into West Bengal following attacks on minority Hindus in Bangladesh last month, Indian officials said on Friday. Tales of looting, rape, land-grabbing and other forms of torture on Hindus have made headlines in Bangladesh and India following the victory of Bangladesh Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, whose government took office on October 10. Police in Bangladesh have reported "a few incidents of attacks on the Hindus".
"We have confirmed that five Hindu families, consisting of 19 people, have come into this district from Bangladesh recently," H. Mohan, magistrate of Dakshin Dinajpur district of West Bengal, told Reuters by phone. Dakshin Dinajpur borders Muslim-majority Bangladesh and lies over 300 km (186 miles) north of Kolkata.
An official in another district of West Bengal said he was trying to verify reports that several Bangladeshi Hindu families had entered the area. "The police and (paramilitary) Border Security Force are trying to confirm and verify these reports of Bangladeshi Hindus coming into this district," Ajit Bardhan, district magistrate of Malda district, told Reuters.
Local media in West Bengal have been widely reporting the arrival of Bangladeshi Hindus fleeing reported intimidation and violence in Bangladesh. Roughly 87 per cent of Bangladesh's population of 130 million are Muslims. Hindus account for around 10 per cent of the population.
Source: http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=4192