First 'crime-free' zone on India-B'desh border to be inaugurated this week

India and Bangladesh will jointly inaugurate a first-of-its-kind "crime-free" stretch of 8.3 kms along the international border in West Bengal this week.

The decision to launch a project of creating such sanitised zones along the India-Bangladesh frontier was taken by the border guarding forces of the two countries -- the BSF and the BGB -- during their bi-annual director general-level talks that were held here in October last year.

"The aim of creating a crime-free zone is to have select border locations that are clear of illegal, anti-social and criminal activities by integrating the efforts of the BSF and the BGB, with assistance from the district administration, NGOs and border population of both the countries," a Border Security Force (BSF) officer said.
 

BSF chief K K Sharma and Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) DG Maj. Gen. Abul Hosain will inaugurate the first such zone on March 9 at the Kalyani border outpost in West Bengal.

The 8.3-km "crime-free" zone stretches between the BSF border posts at Gunarmath and Kalyani and the BGB posts at Putkhali and Daulatpur, the BSF officer said.

Once the pilot project succeeded, similar crime-free zones would be created all along the 4,096-km border that ran across various states, he added.