Shillong : Indian defence forces have been placed on a heightened state of alert along the eastern frontier amid a deteriorating law-and-order situation in Bangladesh and rising concerns over radical activity, officials said.

“All wings of the defence forces are currently in a wait-and-watch mode. Assets have been moved to forward locations and the situation is being closely monitored,” a defence official told The Assam Tribune.

On Tuesday morning, four Chinook helicopters and several Mi-17s were seen flying southeast of Meghalaya. The Defence PRO of the Eastern Air Command described the sorties as routine operations. Along the 443-km Meghalaya-Bangladesh border, the Border Security Force (BSF) has intensified surveillance. “BSF troops are on high alert and the entire stretch is under close watch,” BSF Inspector General O.P. Upadhyay said.

Beyond Meghalaya, the Army has stepped up preparedness across all states sharing an international boundary with Bangladesh. In Assam’s Dhubri district, Army units have moved into the newly established Lachit Borphukan Military Station, while reports indicate that some formations from the Rangia Military Station have also been redeployed to the border district.

Plans are also underway to establish an additional military base in Tripura. Eastern Army Commander Lt Gen R.C. Tiwari has recently visited forward areas in the border state to review preparedness.

While Bangladesh is not seen as a conventional military threat, defence planners are exercising caution in light of escalating unrest, street violence by radical elements and reports of attacks on minorities. “There is no direct military threat from Bangladesh at present, but the situation there demands vigilance. We cannot afford complacency when a neighbouring country is witnessing sustained turmoil,” the official said.

The security situation in Bangladesh has worsened following the killing of student leader Osman Hadi in Dhaka last week. On Monday, another activist, Motaleb Sikder, was shot in the head in Khulna. Both were reportedly associated with the National Citizen Party.

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has indicated that if voted to power, it would seek to restore the 1972 Constitution drafted under Ziaur Rahman, which did not explicitly enshrine secularism as a fundamental principle. The BNP has traditionally been viewed by Indian security analysts as having a pro-Pakistan and anti-India orientation.

Analysts have also flagged a rise in anti-India sentiment within sections of Bangladeshi society, driven by internal political churn and broader regional and international geopolitical factors, adding another layer of complexity to the evolving security landscape along India’s eastern border.

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