Neither Country Will Take Her: Woman Spends Four Days Under Open Sky on Zero Line at Jamalpur Border
A woman has been sitting for four days on the zero line of the Bangladesh-India border, under the open sky on a bed of straw with only a thin blanket. Border guards of both countries — Bangladesh's BGB and India's BSF — stand firm on either side. The scene is unfolding at the Pathorer Char border in Dewanganj upazila of Jamalpur district.
The woman has reportedly been stuck on the zero line, the no man's land between the two countries, since Tuesday morning. Neither Bangladesh nor India is accepting her as its own citizen. The incident has sparked widespread discussion, with many posting about her on social media and in local media.
The BGB has alleged that India's Border Security Force tried to force the woman into Bangladesh. Local residents and the BGB blocked her illegal entry. Since then she has remained stranded on the zero line, and even after four days, neither country is willing to take responsibility for her.
Informal contacts between the two border forces have failed to resolve the matter. As of Friday afternoon, both sides remained firm in their positions, according to reports. The woman has had no choice but to spend day after day in the open field, under the sky.
Even after four days on the zero line, her identity has not been confirmed. The BGB and the BSF have taken opposing positions on whether she is a citizen of Bangladesh or of India, but neither side is allowing her to enter its territory.
Residents of the area adjoining the Pathorer Char border said on Friday afternoon that over the past few days they had managed to deliver food such as rice, biscuits and bread to her. But on Friday even that was no longer possible. For four days she has endured sun and cold in the open, in inhuman conditions.
Several local journalists spoke with the woman in the presence of border guards from both countries. One of them, Jamalpur journalist G M Fatiul Hafiz Babu, said she could not state her address with certainty. Babu said: 'She gave her name as Fuji Begum, her father's name as Hanif, and her age as around thirty. Once she said her home is in Pirojpur district of Bangladesh, then she said Jhalakathi, and another time Barisal.' Babu also said her statements were inconsistent: 'Looking at her and listening to her, she seemed abnormal. She is living an inhuman life on the zero line; if she goes that way the BSF blocks her, and if she comes this way the BGB blocks her.'
Local residents said that while they had been able to give her some dry food in the first days of the incident, that too stopped on Friday. One resident said: 'Many people are coming to the border to see that woman. But while we could get a little close over the past few days, today we could not see her at all, and we could not give her food either.'
Local journalist Farhad Reza claimed that after speaking with the BGB, residents had been able to deliver some dry food and bottles of water to the woman over the past few days, but on Friday the BSF objected. He said: 'Journalists had been able to take footage from close range for reporting over the past few days, but today (Friday) the situation is completely dire. They did not let us go near at all.'
The BGB, too, has not yet been able to confirm her identity, saying she has not provided any specific identification. Lieutenant Colonel Hasanur Rahman, commanding officer of 35 BGB in Jamalpur, said: 'She cannot give us any concrete address. She is giving incomplete information. And it is somewhat difficult to hold a normal conversation with her.'
On Friday afternoon, Hasanur Rahman said contact with the BSF over the stranded woman was ongoing, and that efforts were being made to have the BSF take her back. 'The BSF is at the border, the BGB is there, and the woman is still sitting on the zero line as before — there is no disposal,' he said. He also claimed the BGB has proof that the BSF tried to push her into Bangladesh by force: 'They (the BSF) say she is a Bangladeshi; we (the BGB) say they pushed her from India. We have proof that they pushed her. But they do not want to admit it.' He added that discussions with the neighbouring country's border force on the issue were continuing: 'There is always communication between the BGB and the BSF. We are in contact at the authority level.'
However, nothing has been said about whether a flag meeting between the two border forces is possible over the woman who has spent four days in inhuman conditions on the zero line. Her removal from the border therefore remains uncertain.
Similar incidents have happened before. In June this year, a family of four, including two children, who were victims of a push-in at the Rowmari border in Kurigram were rescued after 96 hours. Push-in incidents involving a man named Shashthi Chandra Barman through Jamalpur's Kamalpur border and a youth through the same district's Jhaodanga border also drew wide attention.
Relations between the two neighbouring countries have deteriorated since the political change in Bangladesh in 2024. Since then, various border incidents have periodically created tension, and the border forces of the two countries have faced off several times over illegal crossings. Bangladesh has repeatedly accused India of forcing people into its territory claiming they are Bangladeshi citizens — push-ins — although the BSF has always denied the allegation. The issue has also been discussed in Bangladesh's national parliament, and the government has faced opposition questions several times.
Recently, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed told parliament that, thanks to the strict stance of the border guards under government direction, the number of push-ins from the neighbouring country has dropped significantly compared to earlier periods. He said that from January 1, 2025 to February 16, 2026, a total of 2,482 people were pushed in from India. But from then until November 8 this year, the number of people pushed in was 37. He also claimed that killings along the Bangladesh-India border have decreased since the BNP government came to power.
