Foreign Secretary Misri arrives in Dhaka for talks amid frosty India-Bangladesh ties
Dhaka (PTI): Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri arrived here on Monday on a day-long visit to hold talks with his Bangladeshi counterpart, amid strained bilateral ties since August following the ouster of prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
Misri reached Dhaka on an Indian Air Force jet, officials said.
A senior Bangladesh Foreign Ministry official received him at the airport. Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma was also present at the airport.
He is scheduled to hold wide-ranging talks with his Bangladeshi counterpart Mohammad Jashim Uddin and meet the country's de-facto foreign minister Mohammad Touhid Hossain.
Foreign Ministry officials said according to the draft schedule Misri would have a private meeting with Uddin at the State Guest House Padma at 11 am before joining a formal meeting or foreign office consultation (FOC).
He is also scheduled to pay a courtesy call to Bangladesh’s interim government head or Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus.
Misri's visit comes amid increasing strain in ties between New Delhi and Dhaka over attacks on minorities, including Hindus, in Bangladesh after Hasina's ouster.
He is expected to raise with Dhaka India's concerns over attacks.
The close ties between India and Bangladesh came under severe strain after Hasina was forced to leave the country in the face of a massive anti-government protest in August. Nobel Peace laureate Yunus came to power days after Hasina took shelter in India.
The relations deteriorated further in recent weeks over attacks on Hindus and the arrest of Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das.
There have been a spate of incidents of violence against Hindus and other minorities as well as attacks on temples in the neighbouring country in the last few weeks that triggered strong concerns in New Delhi.
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Bengaluru jail introduces biometric tracking system for prisoners
Bengaluru: In a bid to curb misconduct and illegal activities inside Parappana Agrahara Central Prison, prison authorities have introduced a new ‘Prisoners Tracking Movement System’ under which inmates will have to undergo biometric verification while entering every barrack.
According to jail officials, biometric systems have been installed across all major sections of the prison, including barracks, visitor rooms, hospital, canteen, kitchen, library, playground, handicraft units and bakery sections. Staff members have also been deployed at these locations.
Officials said inmates visiting the visitors’ room must now obtain a digital token after biometric verification. Details such as the prisoner’s name, identification number and entry time will be updated in the prison software system. This will help authorities maintain a complete digital record of inmates visiting and returning from meeting rooms.
Similar systems have also been introduced at entry points of the hospital, library and other barracks accessed for work-related purposes. Officials said the system will help identify prisoners involved in suspicious or illegal activities with other inmates and enable authorities to track how much time a prisoner spends at different locations inside the prison.
Authorities stated that AI-powered cameras were already being used inside the prison to monitor inmates as well as prison staff. Along with this, digital tracking of prisoner phone calls and a digital token system for visitor meetings have now been added to strengthen surveillance over inmate movement. Officials said the project has been implemented at a cost of around Rs 2.25 crore.
The prison department has also introduced a canteen usage tracking system to monitor prisoners’ spending patterns. Instead of direct cash payments, inmates can purchase bakery items and snacks using wallets or coupons issued within the prison system.
Officials said the digital system will record details including the buyer’s name, items purchased, quantity, date, time and remaining wallet balance. This will allow prison authorities to maintain complete expenditure records of inmates.
