Published on 12:00 AM, April 23, 2019

Bangladeshi youth shot dead by BSF

Indian Border Security Force (BSF) members are seen guarding the India-Bangladesh frontier. Star file photo

The Indian Border Security Force (BSF) shot dead a Bangladeshi youth along Dangaon border in Thakurgaon’s Haripur upazila on early Monday.

The dead, Md Sumon, 22, was son of Safirul Islam, a resident of Dangipara village in the upazila.   

The BSF members also detained another youth Masud Rana, 20, who had crossed the barbed wire and entered the Indian territory. 

According to local sources, members of Basatpur BSF camp opened fire on a group of 10 to 12 Bangladeshi cattle traders around 4:00am while they were entering into India to bring cattle, leaving Sumon dead on the spot.

The other fellows of the youth somehow dragged the body into Bangladeshi side and hid it under a bush before escaping the scene.  

Following the incident, the border guard forces of the two countries held a commanding officer-level meeting on the zero line near Dangaon border around noon, said Lt Col SNM Samiun Nabi Chowdhury, commanding officer (CO) of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) 50 Battalion in Thakurgoan.

In the two hour-long meeting, BGB strongly protested the killing and asked its Indian counterpart to hand over the detained youth, CO said, who led the Bangladesh side during the meeting.

However, Commandant of BSF-146 Battalion SHH Hinjalal Simit, who led the Indian side, informed that the detained youth had already been handed over to Indian police on charge of intrusion, the CO added.

Later, BGB recovered the body of Sumon and handed it over to police.

Police sent it to Thakurgaon Sadar Hospital morgue for an autopsy.