The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) rescued 27 Bangladeshi fishermen who were trapped on their fishing boat at sea on Friday in a quick operation.
During a patrol near the Indo-Bangladesh International Maritime Border Line (IMBL) at around 11:30 hours, the ICG Ship Amogh saw the Bangladeshi fishing boat (BFB) Sagar II drifting within Indian seas. A crew was onboard the ICG ship to conduct an investigation.
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Modi 3.0 Will Include a Significant Change to VIP Security; NSG and ITBP Will Be RemovedWith the new ministers in charge and other paramilitary forces taking up the responsibility of protecting over a dozen high-risk individuals from the NSG and ITBP, the Union government’s VIP security setup is anticipated to undergo a significant “shift and overhaul,” official sources said on Tuesday. According to the sources who spoke with PTI, a review of this significant branch of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is anticipated to begin shortly, and the benefits that have been extended to a number of political figures and candidates, former ministers, retired bureaucrats, and other individuals will either be removed, reduced, or upgraded. The sources added that the long-awaited plan to fully remove the NSG’s “black cat” commandos from VIP security responsibilities will now be put into action, and all nine of its Z-plus category protectees will be transferred to the Central Reserve Police Force’s (CRPF) VIP security unit. According to them, the CRPF or the VIP security division of the CISF known as the special security group (SSG) may receive some of the VIPs protected by members of the border guarding force, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP). Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, his predecessor and BSP supremo Mayawati, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, veteran BJP leader and former deputy prime minister L K Advani, Union shipping minister Sarbananda Sonowal, and BJP leader and former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh are among those shielded by the close protection force of the National Security Guard (NSG) commandos. NSG commandos also guard former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) president Ghulam Nabi Azad, National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah, and TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu. Veteran BJP politician Murli Manohar Joshi, NC leader Omar Abdullah, PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti, and a few others are shielded by the ITBP. Since 2012, when NSG commanders predicted that simultaneous terror strikes may be seen at one time on numerous centers in the nation and that the commandos would need to be dispatched in separate directions, a proposal to relieve the NSG of VIP protection responsibilities has been in the works. According to a January 2020 PTI report, an MHA committee agreed to remove the NSG from VIP security duties after the withdrawal of the SPG from the Gandhi family, which includes Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. The Union government has made the decision to “restructure” the NSG and employ its personnel to build up and station “strike teams” of commandos in high-risk locations, such as the vicinity of the Ram temple in Ayodhya and certain vital infrastructure situated in the southern region of the nation. When the NSG withdraws from VIP protection, it will have been doing so for more than 20 years; this was not a role assigned to the “black cat” commandos when the unit was first conceived and organized in 1984. The Union administration holds the opinion that the NSG ought to focus on its initial mandate of managing counterterrorism and counterhijack activities, and that protecting high-risk VIPs is a “burden” on its restricted and specialized skills. The sources said that when NSG is relieved of its VIP protection responsibilities, some 450 “black cat” commandos are anticipated to be released. Currently, around 200 people are protected by the VIP security wings of the CISF and the CRPF. The Gandhi family and the Union home minister are the exclusive targets of the erstwhile paramilitary group; its protectors include NSA Ajit Doval and RSS head Mohan Bhagwat.
June 11, 2024
After an examination, it was discovered that the yacht had been drifting into Indian seas for the previous two days due to a steering gear malfunction. There were 27 fisherman and crew members aboard the BFB.
The boat’s rudder was found to be fully destroyed and was not repairable at sea, despite the ICG technical team’s best efforts to locate and fix the issue. Given the favorable weather and sea conditions, it was determined that, in compliance with the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Bangladesh Coast Guard and the ICG, the distressed boat would be towed to the Indo-Bangladesh IMBL and turned over to either a Bangladesh Coast Guard ship or another fishing boat operating across the IMBL.
While this was going on, the Bangladesh Coast Guard was notified of the situation and the response plan by the ICG regional headquarters in Kolkata.
BCG sent the Bangladesh Coast Guard Ship (BCGS) Kamaruzzaman to tow BFB. Around 1845, the BCG Ship Kamaruzzaman approached the IMBL. The 27 Bangladeshi fishermen and their boat were turned over to the BCG ship Kamaruzzaman by ICGS Amogh.
