The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

Two jawans of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) were shot dead by Indian Border Security Forces (BSF) 1.5 km inside Bangladesh territory in Shibganj upazila of Chapainawabganj Thursday midnight.

Patrol Commander Havildar Mohammad Abdul Hannan and Lance Nayek Krishna Pada Das were shot to death. Foreign Affairs Adviser Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury in his instant reaction condemned the killing of BDR personnel saying such incidents are totally unacceptable.

Chief of Bangladesh Rifles Maj Gen Shakil Ahmed said Indian troops had fired without provocation near the border.

Local source said Indian BSF entered the Bangladesh territorial water Thursday midnight while chasing some smugglers by speedboats in the Padma River, perhaps without informing the BDR force. As a BDR patrol team challenged, the Indian BSF opened fire killing two Bangladeshi border guards on the spot. BDR retaliated forcing the Indian BSF to retreat.

The gunfight between the border guards of the two countries took place as the foreign secretaries of Bangladesh and India were holding meeting in New Delhi to resolve various bilateral issues including border demarcation and prevention of cross-border smuggling.

The two countries share a long and porous border, mostly not properly demarcated. Over the past decade they have regularly exchanged shelling and small arms fire over the frontier.

Source said that such incident has not seriously interfered with generally friendly relation between Delhi and Dhaka.

However, tensions increased in 2006 when India began fencing off the 4,000km border to keep out what it described as illegal immigrants and "cross-border insurgents."

The borders in the country's northern region were put on alert after the incident.

A flag meeting between BDR and BSF began at 2:10pm near Bangladesh border in Shibganj upazila over the incident. The meeting ended at about 5:30pm.

In the Flag meeting the BDR authority urged for joint investigation of the incident and the BSF said they would convey the BDR request to their higher authority.

At a hurriedly called press briefing at the BDR HQs yesterday afternoon, Col MA Halim, Director Operations & Training, said that Indian BSF's trespass and attack on BDR men could be termed as aggressive mentality towards Bangladesh.

"If someone does not abide by rules it could tantamount to aggressive mentality or disobedience to rules," he told a questioner.

Col Halim said there is no problem from the BDR personnel who always respect the border guidelines. He said the BSF should have restrained them in this unprovoked situation.

He said the incident shows that the Indian BSF members were either panicky or there might be a different motive behind it.

Narrating the Thursday night's shootout, Col Halim said the BSF troops of Indian Thakurbari BOP entered 1.5 kms of the Padma River inside the Bangladesh territory on a speedboat and an engine-boat at midnight.

A BDR patrol team of Raghunathpur BOP boarding a mechanized boat challenged the BSF team. Without giving their identity, BSF members sprayed bullets on BDR personnel causing instant death of Havildar Hannan Sarker, 53, of Kritunia village in Gabtali upazila of Bogra district, and Lance Nayek Krishna Pada Das, 45, of Kholabari village in Shalikha upazila of Magura district.

Other BDR members opened counter-fire forcing the speedboat carrying BSF personnel to retreat, but the engine-boat of BSF was seized. BDR men captured an Indian national Anjam Hossain suspected to be a cattle smuggler and recovered two walkie-talkies and uniforms from the boat.

Col Halim said they have received reports from local sources that one BSF man being hit by bullets jumped into the Padma River and died.

Our correspondent said that the two BDR personnel of the team escaped unhurt during the fire and returned to the shore with the bodies of their two colleagues.

The postmortem of the bodies were done at Chapainawabganj Sadar Hospital.

After the incident, BSF and BDR traded bullets for about half an hour, but no injury was reported.

BDR Rajshahi Sector Commander Col. Iqbal rushed to the spot yesterday morning.

A tense situation was prevailing on the border areas following the incident of firing.

Meanwhile, a press release issued by the Indian High Commission in Dhaka last night while expressing concern at the inaccurate reports in some sections of the media said on the basis of a specific input on the cattle smuggling along river Padma on the night of the July 17 to 18 the 108 Battalion of BSF noted movement of cattle and their smugglers in the area of Border Outpost Nimitita (Malda sector of West Bengal). The BSF river wings pursued the cattle smugglers who were traveling in boats in Indian territory. These smugglers fired at BSF upon which BSF retaliated. During the exchange of fire, one BSF constable sustained serious injuries.