Bangla Press Desk: Hours after shooting a Bangladeshi national to death near the Patgram border in Lalmonirhat and taking away his body, the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) has apoligised.
The apologies were offered during a commander-level flag meeting near pillar No 875 on Wednesday morning, when the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) strongly protested the killing.
The BGB, however, said the incident took place inside the Indian territory in the wee hours of Wednesday, when 38-year-old Ali Hossain, a resident of Jongra union in the Upazila, was killed.
He was the father of two sons and a daughter.
A group of seven to eight people, including Ali, entered about 200 yards inside India to cross the border with cattle around 3am, said the BGB.
At that time, members of 156th Falakata Battalion of the BSF sector in Cooch Behar of West Bengal opened fire on them.
Ali died on the spot before the BSF took away his body and handed it over to Mathabhanga police.
Terming the border killings “completely unacceptable”, Lt Col Syed Fazle Munim, commander of BGB-61 Teesta Battalion said: "We strongly protested it [Ali's killing].
“The BSF has claimed that its members opened fire in self-defence after an attack by ‘smugglers’. However, they have expressed regret over this ‘unfortunate’ death," said Munim, who led the Bangladesh side in the meeting.
The BGB official said the process of bringing the body back to the country after the postmortem is under way.
Ali’s elder brother Abdul Malek said they heard about the death in BSF firing late at night.
He, however, could not give any details about why or how Ali went there.
Earlier on Monday morning, a Bangladeshi youth was injured by BSF firing near the border of Dhabalsuti BOP in the same Upazila.
