Shah to attend border security events and review meetings in Siliguri

PTI, August 20, 2026, Kolkata : Union Home Minister Amit Shah will attend programmes and chair review meetings related to border security and interact with Sashastra Seema Bal personnel in Siliguri on Friday, officials said.

The Home Minister's visit assumes significance as the Siliguri corridor, commonly known as the "Chicken's Neck", is a strategically important stretch connecting the northeastern states with the rest of the country and lies close to the country's borders with Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. The visit will include high-level reviews of security along India's borders with the three neighbouring countries, the officials said.

On Friday, Shah will visit the SSB Frontier headquarters in Siliguri, where he will attend foundation-laying ceremonies for various border security projects and interact with SSB personnel, they said.

He will also participate in a "Bara khana" with the jawans. The Home Minister will later attend a programme and hold a meeting on the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita exhibition at Kawakhali ground in Siliguri. After the event, Shah will return to Sukna, the officials said.

The three new criminal laws -- the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam -- came into force on July 1, 2024, replacing the colonial-era Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure and Indian Evidence Act.

The Home Minister is also expected to chair a border-security review meeting on August 22, examining coordination among the BSF, SSB, intelligence agencies and state authorities.