The Meghalaya government has asked the Union home ministry to persuade the Bangladesh government to allow fencing closer to the international boundary to ensure that no villages are left outside the fenced area, PTI quoted Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong as saying on Thursday.

Tynsong said that under international guidelines, fencing is required to be erected 150 yards within a country’s territory. However, following this norm in certain stretches of Meghalaya would leave several villages stranded outside the fenced area, “compromising their safety”.

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The plan aims to secure a 40-km stretch of the India-Bangladesh border that currently is unfenced.

“We have taken up with the MHA, urging it to convince the government of Bangladesh, because of this reality, let us go close to the main pillar of the border so that we can avoid fencing outside the village,” Tynsong, who also serves as the state’s home minister, told PTI.

Tynsong’s appeal to the Union government came less than a week after a border intrusion in Rongdangai village.

On August 8, six men, including a constable from the Bangladesh Police, entered Indian territory, assaulted a shopkeeper, and looted money and valuables.

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One of the perpetrators was killed by a mob, while the others were apprehended by Indian security personnel, The New Indian Express reported

The Meghalaya government has ramped up border surveillance after the incident, Tynsong said.

He said that instructions have been passed down to all district officials and police units to intensify efforts to curb illegal crossings along the border areas from East Jaintia Hills to Dalu in Garo Hills.

“I’m very sure our police force will be able to nab and also to push back those infiltrators”, he said on Thursday.