Bangladeshi authorities have arrested a policeman from a minority community, accusing him of passing crucial information to India.
It’s a rare case of espionage erupting in the middle of a controversial citizenship law that the Indian government enacted last week. The amended law allows minorities except Muslims from India’s three neighbouring countries Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan to gain Indian citizenship.
A local court in Dhaka has sent the accused Debo Prosad Saha, the son of Surendranath Saha from Tarkhada Upazila of the Khulna district, into police custody. The Benapole police station has confirmed the arrest and five day remand of the suspect.
As per the charges, Saha had been working at an immigration office for months where he developed friendly relations with many in India.
The police are also investigating army office assistant Abu Hanzala Rana and soldier Shahnawaz Shaheen in the case, who were in close contact with Saha.
Police alleged that Saha had crossed the No Man’s Land boundary on several occasions to pass information to Indian handlers namely S. Chakraborty and Pintu.
The arrest has been made mere days after Bangladesh Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen and the country's Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan called off their visits to India amid the agitations against the amended citizenship law.
On Tuesday, advisor to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on international affairs, Gauhar Rizvi, said the country will take back any of its citizens staying in India illegally, if evidence is provided.