Kolkata, Dec 19: Security has been tightened at Siliguri in northern West Bengal’s Darjeeling district ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s scheduled visit to attend the special programme of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) on Friday on the occasion of the force’s Raising Day.
As per the schedule, Home Minister Shah is expected to arrive at Bagdogra Airport near Siliguri after 10 p.m. on Thursday and thereafter, he will be reaching the frontier headquarters of the SSB at Siliguri by road.
After having the night stay there, he will be attending a programme to mark the SSB’s Raising Day at 11 a.m. on Friday. Thereafter the Union Home Minister is also scheduled to hold a high-level meeting with the top officials of the force.
Sources said that since the SSB’s frontier headquarters at Siliguri is just a few kilometres away from the district’s borders with Bangladesh, the scheduled high-level meeting is perceived to be quite crucial amid the ongoing political crisis in Bangladesh causing apprehension of the rise in illegal infiltration into India.
The proximity to the international borders is also the reason that security measures had been made totally watertight since Thursday afternoon in and around Siliguri on the occasion of the Union Minister’s visit.
Amit Shah is supposed to fly back to New Delhi after attending the high-level meeting on Friday afternoon only. His scheduled departure from Bagdogra airport is 3.10 p.m. on Friday. BJP state President and Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar will be accompanying the Union Home Minister during the entire tour. Majumdar is also supposed to receive Amit Shah at the Bagdogra airport on Thursday night.
However, a BJP state committee member said that the schedule of the Union Home Minister at Siliguri is so hectic that Majumdar will hardly have any time to interact on the party’s organisational aspects with him.
IANS