The deteriorating situation in Bangladesh has resulted in Indian students returning home by any available means, with more than 300 crossing through border points in the northeast on Friday alone due to widespread protests that have been ongoing for weeks.
More than 100 individuals have lost their lives as students across Bangladesh clashed with security forces and pro-government activists over the reintroduction of reservation in government jobs.
The demonstrations, which have been ongoing for at least three weeks, intensified significantly on Monday following violence at Dhaka University. The following day, six people were killed, leading the government to order the closure of universities across the country.
The students who came back mostly studied for MBBS degrees, and the majority of them hail from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Meghalaya, Jammu, and Kashmir.
On Friday, students mainly used two routes to return - the international land port at Akhurah near Agartala in Tripura and the international land port at Dawki in Meghalaya.
They mentioned that they had been patiently observing the situation but eventually decided to temporarily leave Bangladesh due to a near-complete shutdown of the internet on Thursday, along with severely impacted telephone services, which effectively isolated them from their families.
Some students took a six-hour taxi journey with a security escort to get home. In Meghalaya, officials reported that over 200 Indians entered the country due to the protests. Additionally, a few students from Bhutan and Nepal also arrived in India.
An official informed that 67 of the students were from Meghalaya and seven were from Bhutan, and also mentioned that the state government was coordinating with the Bangladesh High Commission and the Bangladesh Land Port Authority to ensure the safe return of Indians.
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