Shillong: A 'mischievous' campaign is on in the Bangladesh media to drum up 'tension' in border areas by carrying false statements attributed to the Border Security Force (BSF), the BSF director-general, Ajai Raj Sharma, today (Nov 23, 2004) said.

''The media in Bangladesh are writing that the BSF has declared a red alert in the border areas, increased its troops by thousands with mounted guns and forcibly pushing Bengali-speaking population to that country,'' Sharma told a press conference in Shillong.

He said that the Bangladeshi media reports were brought to his notice by the Additional DG (Eastern range), S I S Ahmed, in Kolkata only yesterday (Nov 22, 2004).

Expressing surprise over the media reports, Sharma, who is on a two-day visit to the Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur and Nagaland frontiers, said that it seemed the media there had a 'mischievous plan' aimed at creating 'tension' among public living in border areas. Asked about the proposed joint patrolling by the BSF and BDR (Bangladesh Rifles) along the boundary for a better border management, Sharma said that it was yet to get the approval of the Bangladesh Government.