The Indian Border Security Force shot four Bangladeshis dead in the frontier districts of Kurigram, Dinajpur and Meherpur on Friday and Saturday in a latest spate of killings despite repeated assurances by New Delhi not to open fire on unarmed civilians on the borders.
BSF personnel at Narayanganj camp in Cochbihar district killed Alamgir Hossain, 25, on Garakmandal border in Phulbari upazila at about 6:00am on Saturday, New Age correspondent in Kurigram reported.
Alamgir was shot near the international pillar 930, the officials said. He died on way to Phulbari upazila health complex.
Locals could not confirm whether he was trying to cross the border when the BSF opened fire.
Naodanga union parishad chairman Moshabbar Hossain Musa confirmed the incident.
Border Guard Bangladesh Shimulbari border outpost
commander subedar Nizam Uddin said a letter was sent to the BSF protesting at the killing.
Alamgir, son of Ismail Hossain, was a resident of village Krishnananda Bakshi (Balatari) in Phulbari. Local sources identified him as a cattle trader.
Tension was prevailing in the area after the incident with both BSF and BGB intensifying patrol along the border, locals said.
In Dinajpur, two youths, Matiar Rahman, 20, and Tajul Islam, 26, were killed in BSF firing on the Katla border in Birampur upazila at about 1:00am on Saturday, New Age correspondent in Dinajpur reported.
BSF troops fired four shots targeting a group of Bangladeshi villagers when they allegedly tried to cross the border at Katla, leaving Matiar and Tajul critically injured, BGB officials said.
The BSF personnel took away the bodies, they said.
The BSF, which was expected to return the bodies after a meeting held on Saturday afternoon at the request of the BGB, did not hand them over until late into evening, the BGB sources said.
The locals said Matiar, son of Siddique Hossian, was a resident of Dakkhin Daudpur village in Nababganj upazila while Tajul, son of Asir Uddin, lived in Rangram village.
Major Tareque Iftekhar, acting commander of 40 Border Guard Battalion, said they had protested against the killing at the battalion level.
Another meeting between local units of the two forces is expected to be held Sunday, he said.
On Meherpur border, BSF shot Naharul Islam, 40, dead in Shewratala frontier area of Gangni upazila at around 7:30pm on Friday, according to United News of Bangladesh.
They dragged the body into the Indian territory and handed it over to Murutia police station in West Bengal.
BGB battalion commander lieutenant colonel Hamiduzzaman said they had written to the BSF authorities demanding immediate return of the body.
Rezaul Karim, camp commander of BGB Battalion 35, could not say whether Naharul, a resident of Harbhanga village, had crossed the border into India.
Killing of Bangladesh nationals by the BSF along the borders continued though the Indian side had agreed at high profile meetings to show restraints and resolve disputes through discussion.
New Delhi also assured Dhaka of using non-lethal weapons in an unavoidable situation.
The BSF killed at least 30 Bangladeshis, injured 58 and abducted 20 in the frontiers this year, according to rights groups.
The force killed at least 33 Bangladeshis and injured 67 others last year along the borders.
In 2009 the BSF killed 36 Bangladeshis, 47 in 2008, in 2007 the number was 33, in 2006 they killed 62 Bangladeshis and 104 in 2005.
Most of the abducted persons were, however, released after meetings with the BGB.
The Indian home minister Palaniappan Chidambaram assured Bangladesh, in a conference in Dhaka on July 30, that their border guards would not shoot any unarmed civilians under any circumstances.
‘Let me make it very clear…we have issued strict instructions to our border security forces that under no circumstances should they fire upon anyone trying to cross from either Bangladesh to India or India to Bangladesh. The message has gone down to the last jawan,’ he said at a joint press conference with his Bangladesh counterpart Shahara Khatun on July 30.
India share 4,165 kilometres of border stretch with Bangladesh.
-With New Age input
