New Delhi: The diplomatic sparring between India and Bangladesh over the issue of illegal immigrants hotted up on February 3 with New Delhi firmly telling Dhaka to take back 213 Bangladeshi nationals stranded in "no-man's land" on the border with West Bengal for the last four days.

Bangladesh High Commissioner Tufail Karim Haider was summoned to the Foreign Office on February 3 morning by Meera Shankar, additional secretary, and an aide memoire handed over to him.

It was conveyed to Haider that the agreed modalities for accepting people back when they are detained while crossing the border should be implemented.

The Bangladeshi envoy was told that these persons were Bangladesh nationals carrying documents of proof of residence like electricity bills and that this was a "humanitarian issue", External Affairs Ministry spokesman told reporters.

"The fact that they are not getting any humanitarian assistance is causing them a lot of problems," he said.

It was contended that these people were intercepted by Border Security Force (BSF) personnel while trying to cross into Indian territory at border post number 867/8-C in the Cooch Behar area of West Bengal and were currently detained by Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) personnel at point 8-S and were not being taken back, the spokesman said.

The two countries had agreed that persons apprehended in the process of inadvertently or deliberately crossing over the border would be accepted immediately based on the disclosures made by them.

"However, where verification becomes necessary, the apprehended persons would be accepted within three days," he said.

PTI