India says Bangladesh Rifles mutiny "an internal matter"

New Delhi/Siliguri/Agartala, Feb 26 (ANI): External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee has said that the mutiny by Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) soldiers was an 'internal matter' of Bangladesh.

"This is the internal matter of a sovereign country. There is a regularly elected government, they are in full command of the situation. They know how to deal with it and they are dealing with it. We wish them all success. It is not our practice to make any comment on the internal matter of any sovereign country including our friendly neighbouring country. So far our border is concerned, it is totally safe and secure," Mukherjee told reporters here on Wednesday.

Following the incident in Dhaka, the Border Security Force (BSF) has been put on high alert all along the Bangladesh border.

BSF personnel were seen patrolling the border near Siliguri in West Bengal.

"We have asked our officers and men to remain fully alert, vigilant and watch the situation along the border and take appropriate action, in case action is needed. But so far situation is perfectly normal, no untoward incident of any nature has been reported from our eastern frontiers as of now," M L Kumawat, BSF Director General, said in New Delhi.

The BSF also went on high alert along the entire 857-km India-Bangladesh border of Tripura.

"Although there are very less chances that Bangladeshi army takes over BDR, but in case that happens and then at that stage if some kind of spill over takes place, then BSF as border guarding force, within the purview of the constitution, would deal with them in the same manner as with the infiltrators," A.K. Singh, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), BSF said in Agartala.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina met some of the BDR mutineers later on Wednesday in a bid to end the stand-off. They agreed to lay down their arms and accept an amnesty offered by the government, one of their officers said.

The mutiny broke out even though Hasina met senior BDR officers at an annual parade on Tuesday and assured them her government would do its best to modernise the paramilitary and reward good performers. (ANI)