Overview
- West Bengal’s Greater Siliguri Hoteliers Welfare Association said no Bangladeshi citizen will be accommodated, revoking earlier humanitarian exceptions for medical and student visas.
- Hotels and some transport operators have displayed “Boycott Bangladesh” notices, with drivers refusing services to Bangladeshi nationals in the city’s Junction area.
- Local trader groups are urging a broader cutoff, calling for imports, exports, hotel stays, transport, retail sales, and medical facilities for Bangladeshi citizens to be halted.
- A notice circulated by the hoteliers links the move to strained ties and security concerns, with around 180 member hotels and roughly 50 non-members adhering, while Malda hoteliers weigh similar curbs.
- The backlash follows the killing of Dipu Chandra Das in Bangladesh; Dhaka has paused consular and visa services in New Delhi and Agartala as India summoned the High Commissioner, and the interim government says there is no blasphemy evidence and pledges support to his family.