SHILLONG, Dec 28: The Border Security Force (BSF), Meghalaya has refuted allegations of killing a Bangladeshi national on Tuesday night.
According to media reports in Bangladesh, troops of BSF, BOP Gasuapara sector, Tura allegedly shot Khairul Islam when he had gone to the border area in search of his cattle.
Islam later succumbed to bullet injury at Mymensingh Civil Hospital in the intervening night of December 22 and 23, the reports said.
However, BSF Meghalaya has denied the allegation, terming it an attempt to malign the image of the security force and to create a stir in the bilateral talks which were going on between director generals of BSF and BGB at that time in Guwahati.
BSF sources said blood stains of the deceased Bangladeshi national were claimed to be found approximately 200 meters inside Bangladesh in the alignment of BP number 1124/5-S while no BSF jawan was deployed that night in that area.
They said that no blood stains or any telltale signs supporting the Bangladeshi media allegations were found on Indian territory.
“The blood stains inside Bangladesh could not be shown to BSF when BSF approached BGB for joint spot verification of the area. However, it is learnt that the deceased was actively involved in cattle smuggling and his brother is the main kingpin of a cattle smuggling racket in that area. There are FIRs also against him in Bangladesh,” sources from BSF said.
According to BSF, the family of the deceased was missing from their village, which made the allegation even more suspicious.
“It seems that the Bangaldeshi national has been killed due to some feud over cattle smuggling involving his brother and it has also put the life of their family in danger, which is why they are absconding,” the sources said.
Asserting that BSF is a disciplined and well-trained force, which tackles border crimes in a highly professional manner, the sources further said that two jawans from the BOP Lyngkhat sector in Jowai were attacked by some Bangladeshi miscreants while they were on foot patrol inside Indian territory on December 24.
“The miscreants attacked with a dao, causing injury to one of the jawans. Even in the face of grave danger to their lives, the BSF exhibited patience and highest degree of professionalism and used minimum force to apprehend one Bangladeshi miscreant,” the sources said.