Overview
- In May 2026 the newly elected BJP government in West Bengal ordered a crackdown on undocumented Bangladeshis and Rohingya and instructed local authorities to set up holding centres for deportation.
- Fact checks by AFP confirmed at least two widely shared videos were misattributed: one was a Nepal Army mock drill from February 2026 and another was footage of a January 18, 2025 clash between Indian and Bangladeshi farmers.
- Local police and reporters say hundreds of Bangladeshis gathered at crossings such as Hakimpur seeking to return home, though the total number of people moving or displaced remains unclear.
- Operational friction has increased between India's Border Security Force and Bangladesh's Border Guard Bangladesh, with on-the-ground standoffs over alleged pushbacks and a recent DG-level coordination meeting in New Delhi to negotiate repatriation procedures.
- Social posts have amplified inflammatory, false claims and calls for violence, making independent verification by journalists and officials central to preventing escalation and protecting vulnerable people at the frontier.